Sex, Drugs and Team Rocket?
by tiggerkiddo
Summary: A trip to see Unova's hottest new rocker takes a turn for the worse when Team Rocket crashes the party! Do they hate Homika's rock n' roll act or they up to something far more sinister? Looks like it's up to Ethan, Jasmine and Homika to find out!
1. Chapter 1

The large spotlights flooded the stage with light and a thick fog began to pour out. Everyone around them began to scream at the top of their lungs. It was like the worst noise he had ever heard, made worse since most of the concertgoers were young kids. Normally he never had a problem with youngsters, in fact he usually loved hanging out with them but now? Ugh. The only thing that made it worse was the group of singing Loudred who consisted of the opening act. Each one let forth a loud and terrible sounding bellow, something like Wiggler on a bad day. A real bad day. He looked over at his trusted Pokemon for his reaction but Wiggler wore only a surly look. "What do you think Wiggler?"

Wiggler didn't look at him and Ethan cleared his throat and spoke up again, a bit louder this time. "What do you think Wiggler?"

This time the Wigglytuff looked over at him with its huge glassy eyes and let out a squeak of protest. It flailed its arms around and let out a series of squeaks, mainly to let him know that this musical group was awful, horrible and just no good. He nodded in agreement, which earned him only a question...well it came out more like a demand. "Why are we here? Come on, I already told you several times."

Wiggler let out a squeak that sounded more like a grumble. Or a gripe. He looked over at his other traveling companion but she had disappeared into the crowd somewhere. He looked around for her, or tried to but soon the terrible singing from the Loudred began to pound his head and he stopped looking for her at the moment. He reached into his backpack and took out some earplugs. Before he could put them in his ears, Wiggler snatched them away and put them in his instead. "Hey, give me those back!"

Wiggler let out an angry squeak and Ethan shook his fist at him. "Hey I bought those with my hard earned money! You just can't take them from me! Get your own!"

He grabbed for them but Wiggler scurried away, disappearing into the throngs of kids. Ethan grumbled. "Darn you, using your smaller size to get away. I'll get you for that!"

He pushed his way through the crowds of kids, following after Wigglers tall ears. He may have been small but those ears were a dead giveaway. As he followed after Wiggler, the bellowing Loudred had given way to a Jigglypuff, A Jigglypuff with the most shrill sounding voice he had heard, like nails on a chalkboard bad and yet this earned even more cheers and applause from the crowd. He stopped in his tracks and watched as the kids around him jumped up and down as the Jigglypuff, adorned in more studded leather than a motorcycle gang, let out a terrible tune. Just how did they enjoy this stuff? He then remembered what he was supposed to be doing and he looked around for Wiggler again. He soon spotted him, making his way toward the back where a lot of the loud speakers had been set up. At least the crowd had begun to thin in the back, it'd make it easier to nab him.

Wiggler just got to one of the speakers when Ethan ran over. He noticed him coming right away and took off in another direction. Ethan did his best to make the sharp turn but tripped on something and fell to the ground. He looked up in time to see Wiggler scurry off into the crowds again. "Oh, I'm gonna fix you. You're not going to make a mockery of me!"

"Ethan."

He turned and saw Jasmine sat atop a speaker. Floating nearby were a couple of her Magnemite, who seemed to be enjoying the concert, bobbing in the air and emitting a sort of happy hum. She hopped down and took out the ear plugs in her ears. "Oh hey Jasmine, I was wondering where you had went."

"The Magnemite were attracted to this area and since I had come here for them, I decided to come over. Why were you hanging out so close to the stage?"

"I thought the concert would get interesting but so far all I've gotten is a headache. I was going to put some ear plugs in but Wiggler took them and I've been chasing him ever since."

She covered her mouth and laughed. "So that is why I saw him running past."

"Yea and I'm gonna have to catch him unless I want to go deaf! This music is awful!"

"Why do you think I brought earplugs? Though I hear the main singer for the concert is pretty good."

He folded his arms. "You mean that gym leader from Unova, Homika? I haven't heard her sing yet so I'll take your word for it. It can't get any worse, that's for sure!"

She smiled. "Oh it's not that bad-"

"You've had ear plugs in your ears all this time. You don't know how bad it is. It's more than bad, it's awful! Why do the Magnemite like this concert anyways? They could just hang around a power plant-"

"I think it is mainly for the main event. She is apparently an electric gym leader and her concert uses alot of lights, pyrotechnics and...well I hear they can be pretty explosive. I bet that's what they'll be attracted to more than anything else."

"So...when does that actually start? I don't think I can take any more of this-"

Suddenly the lights darkened and the kids screamed increased. He turned toward the stage as purple and teal lights flooded it and more fog began to pour out. Bolts of lightning flashed all around them, causing the Magnemite to bounce around in the air, energized by the performance. And the singer hadn't even appeared yet. He could hear a young woman's voice and all the lights focused on one spot on the stage, causing the crowd to go even more nuts. He looked at Jasmine. "Maybe we should go check it out!"

"Okay, I really want to see how she sounds like. I hear she's pretty good."

"Well, she can't get any worse than the opening act, that's for sure!"

As they got closer to the stage, the main act of the concert finally appeared. She had white hair, which she wore in a style akin to a pineapple, at least that's how he could best describe it. She wore a strapless minidress with teal and purple horizontal stripes, a studded bracelet on one wrist and some tall black boots line with teal lighting along the bottom. She raised her guitar to the crowd, causing an even greater frenzy. "Are you ready to rock?"

The crowd yelled an emphatic yes but it must have not been to her approval as she shook her head. "I said, are you guys ready to rock?" She yelled again, a big grin forming on her face. The crowd answered a bit louder and she nodded. "Then let's get ready to rock," she said. She grabbed the guitar and slashed her fingers across the strings, causing a huge fountain of sparks to erupt behind her and shower the stage and some of the people close to the stage. She soon began to sing one of her songs, an energetic song whose lyrics he couldn't make out if he tried.

Thankfully she sounded much easier on his ears compared to the last act. Each time she strummed her guitar with force, another fountain of sparks would shower the crowd. "Now this is more like it! What do you think Jasmine?"

He looked over at her but she wore a worried look. "Well..."

"Huh? Well? You don't like it? What's wrong with it?"

Jasmine pursed her lips. "I don't think...these lyrics are appropriate for kids."

He heard a familiar squeak and turned to see Wiggler sitting close by. "Oh there you are! You can keep the ear plugs now, I don't mind this music."

"Ethan."

He turned to Jasmine again. "You can understand the lyrics? I can't really understand a word she's saying. I don't know how you can. Can you Wiggler?"

Wiggler shook his head. "Then maybe I'm just hearing things," she said. He shrugged and turned his attention back to the stage. Homika had ended her first song and the music went from energetic and electric to more of a slower beat. One of the backup singers stepped forward and began to perform while she stepped back. Instead of providing some sort of backup in the form of her guitar, she began to pace the stage, egging the rest of the band on and gesturing to the crowd. She must have really been enjoying because she began to strum the guitar without touching the stringers and banging her head as if she was listening to a rock song, even though the song was more of a slow jam. "Is she listening to the same song we are?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. She got down on her knees and straddle the guitar between her legs. She licked it it like it was some sort of lollipop and he felt his heart jump a few paces.

"Ethan."

Wiggler let out a squeak. "I agree...I don't really think this is for kids."

"Ethan."

"I mean does this have anything to do with the song? I mean, really."

Wiggler let out another squeak. "Huh? I don't think she's looking straight at me. You're crazy."

"Ethan," Jasmine said for the third time, coming as close to yelling as she could. He looked over at her and noticed Jasmine glaring at him. "You're staring."

"Huh, I wasn't staring! I was just remarking about how dumb it looks!"

"While staring."

He rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Well I didn't expect her to-"

"Hey you, hey I'm talking to you!"

He turned around to see Homika staring at him from the edge of the stage. "Huh, me?"

"Yea, you. Get up here on stage, I need someone to rock with. Come on!"

"Huh, what," he said but he soon found himself pushed onto the stage. Exactly what was he supposed to do? He had never been on a rock stage, that's for sure. Homika thrust the guitar in his hands as she walked to the mike. She grabbed it and screamed into it, almost causing him to drop the guitar in surprise.

"Now are you guys ready to rock?"

The crowd roared in approval but she shook her head. "No, I said are you guys ready to rock?"

Again the crowd roared louder, this time roaring their approval for a whole few minutes. She raised her hands to the sky as she took it all in. She looked down at the crowd again and nodded. "That's right. And I hope you're ready because I'm about to tear the roof off this-"

Before she could finish, the lights changed color, from purple and lime to a dark crimson. He heard a cracking sound and looked back at the large screen behind them, the Team Rocket symbol appearing. "What, Team Rocket?"

"Team what?" Homika asked, the microphone still close to her mouth. She looked up at the screen again. "Oh...those guys."

"Those guys? You know them?"

She nodded and began to speak again when a large spotlight appeared overhead. He looked up to see a large blimp with the Team Rocket logo flying overhead. Several ropes fell to the stage and he saw several Team Rocket members sliding down the ropes. He turned and saw Wiggler scurrying up the stage, even before he had to whistle for him. "Yo Wiggler, think you could send these goons off with a song to remember?"

Wiggler grabbed a nearby mike and Homika laughed. "A Wigglytuff? You really think she can do something against Team Rocket? Is this the junior leagues? Step aside before you get hurt!"

He laughed. "Hurt? I'm not just your everyday trainer!"

"Well you look like it to me. I'm a gym leader-"

"And I've beaten all the gym leaders in Johto and Kanto!"

Homika laughed again. "Yea, so what-"

"Look out you two!" Jasmine said. Ethan looked up and saw several Koffing appear, the Pokemon of choice for any good Team Rocket member. The Pokemon emit large clouds of gas onto the stage, a thick gas that had them both gasping for air. Wiggler let out a cry and then used his powerful lungs to blow away some of the gas, allowing him a chance to breathe and get a clear head. As it did, the lights went off and he could hear a familiar jingle.

"Prepare for trouble-"

"Why make it double!"

"To protect the world from devestation-"

"To unite people within all our nations."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love-"

"To extend our reach to-"

"Okay cut the music!" Ethan yelled. "Really, how many times do I have to put you guys away? Isn't it time to cut your losses and consider another job?"

"He interrupted our theme song. Are we just going to take that lying down?" A young guy said.

"Not if I can help it! Let's continue!" A young girl said.

"To extend our reach to the stars above-"

"Lyra!"

"And Carr-"

"I said cut the music! I'm not listening to your cheesy speech! Now come out so I can send you guys packing...again!"

One of the spotlights suddenly flashed a bright light in his face. He threw his hands up to cover his face and stumbled back. "Wrong, this time, we're gonna be sending you packing...Ethan!"

By now, he had recovered, maybe just a little. His vision was still pretty blurry but it wouldn't be long. "Ugh, I'm glad you remember me! Well I shouldn't be surprised since I helped stopped your plans so many times."

"Yea well, this time will be different! Carr, you get Ms Pineapple head while I handle Mr. Big Shot here. The big wigs were pretty specific about this guy."


	2. Chapter 2

More of the spotlights switched on again and he saw he was dealing with a duo. The girl was dressed in the traditional Team Rocket outfit for women but had a large puffy white hat with two curved brown ponytails poking out from under it. The guy's only trait was his head full of messy blue hair. That and he was short. "Man, Team Rocket's standards have dropped off a cliff, don't you think Wiggler?"

"You're funny. Not so funny once I show your Pokemon a thing or two!" Lyra said. She tossed a Pokeball forward and summoned a Heracross. It landed with a thud and fluxed its muscles as it did. He smiled.

"Wow, I'm impressed but Wiggler knows how to deal with these kind of Pokemon. Wiggler, you know what to do!"

Before Wiggler could actually do what he wanted, the bug Pokemon charged forward, at a speed that surprised him and Wiggler both. It leapt into the air and swung its arm down with a karate chop but Wiggler rolled out of the way before it hit. Wiggler got back to its feet and pointed its small limbs toward its head, ready to unleash a psychic attack. The Heracross grabbed a nearby speaker, even though it had to be twice its size and flung it at Wiggler. The speaker stopped a few inches from its head and floated in place.

Wiggler let out a squeak as he pointed his arm toward the bug and the speaker flew back at the bug. The Heracross knocked the speaker aside with its huge horn. "Oh wow, impressive," Ethan said. Lyra laughed.

"Of course he's tough! The Rocket bosses were very specific about dealing with you. You've caused us quite a bit of trouble. We aren't going to have that happen again! Heracross show them your secret technique!"

"Secret technique? If you think that's going to help you, think again!"

The Heracross crossed its arms and a bright aura glowed around its body. Ethan frowned, unsure of what was going on and looked over at Wiggler, motioning him to take a defensive stance. Two other image of the bug appeared but it didn't look like it was Double Team. Soon even more images of Heracross appeared, a small army of extra images. It was becoming tough to keep track of the original and he realized that is what she was counting on. "Don't do anything Wiggler. She wants us to get distracted!"

Suddenly one of the images charged at Wiggler but before it got any closer, it vanished into thin air with a puff of smoke. Soon every other afterimage of the Heracross was charging at Wiggler and disappearing. He had been trying to keep track of the original but had soon lost track as the afterimages piled up. Wiggler had pretty good vision so perhaps he had been able to keep track.

Out of nowhere, the Heracross dropped out of the sky and smacked Wiggler in the back with a powerful karate chop. Ethan jumped in surprise. "H-hey!"

He noticed his back felt a bit lighter and realized his backpack was gone. "I thought you were paying attention!" Lyra said. He looked over at her and saw a Haunter floating next to her, his backpack, which also had some of his remaining Pokemon.

"Well...I thought I was."

Lyra took the backpack. "So now what are you going to do?"

Suddenly. Jasmine's huge Steelix landed on the stage, separating him and Lyra. Lyra jumped back in surprise at this new entrant to the ring. He looked over and saw her hurry onto the stage. "Ethan, you get Homika out of here."

"What but why? I still have a few Pokemon on me, we've taken them on before and we can do it again!"

"Not with all of them all at once! Between me and some of my team, we can handle them!"

"I don't think that's such a-"

Wiggler interrupted him with a squeak. He looked down at the Pokemon, who seemed to have recovered somewhat from the attack. He let out a few more squeaks and Ethan grumbled.

"Fine! I'll get her to safety but I'm coming right back!"

He and Wiggler turned and head over to where Homika was. She was in the middle of a large battle of nothing but poisonous Pokemon. He knew Team Rocket was known for using Poison Pokemon but why was she using them? Wasn't she supposed to be an electric type user? Or was he just mistaken? From what he could see, the battle was kind of a draw since she chose to fight Team Rocket with similar Pokemon. "Homika?"

"Can't you see I'm a bit busy here?"

He and Wiggler exchanged a look, before coughing a bit as each Wheezing tried to outdo the other in filling the area with gas clouds. "Yes, busy making a stink! Let's get out of here!"

She looked at him with wide eyes. "Get out of here? Right after they decided to crash my concert? You're nuts!"

"I know it sounds nuts but this place is going to be crawling with even more Team Rocket goons and we can't take them all on! Best to cut bait and get out of here!"

"No way! I'm gonna show them up for trying to crash my concert!" She yelled before turning her attention back to the various members of Team Rocket she was fighting. He took off his hat and grabbed the Pokeball he had hiding there.

"All right Wiggler, I'll summon Crunk and separate her and her Pokemon from the others and then you can teleport us away, all right?"

Wiggler let out a squeak of agreement and he flicked his Pokeball forward, summoning another massive Steelix to the fray. It landed in between Homika and Team Rocket, causing her to shriek in surprise. The other Poison Pokemon tried in vain to spray the Steelix but Crunk's steel hide ensured nothing worked. Homika shot him a dirty look, just as Wiggler sprang forward. Within a flash, they were soon away from the stage and had landed in a forest by the looks of it.

Homika stood up and looked around. "Huh, a forest? Hey, what's the big idea?"

"Hey, it wasn't my idea. I wanted to stay back there and fight too!"

"Then why are we here and instead of being back at the stage? I was just ready to get the upper hand!"

Wiggler let out a squeak and she looked at him. "I don't think Wiggler agrees."

Homika folded her arms and looked away. "What does she know?"

Wiggler, who had been lying on the ground trying to catch his breath, sprang to his feet and let out a flurry of angry squeaks at her. Thought it was kind of tough for a Wigglytuff to look threatening to anyone. Homika leveled her eyes at him. "That's he."

"He? Aren't all Wigglytuff supposed to be girls?"

He laughed. "One in four will be a male. He just happens to be one of the rare male ones."

"Cute. Now how about we get back? I've got to show those Team Rocket goons not to mess with the Queen of Rock!"

"You aren't going anywhere! If something were to happen you, everyone would want my head! I only did that to get you to safety."

"I'm a gym leader. If anyone should be whisked to safety, it would be you!"

He shot a glare at her. "Me? Me? I've beaten every gym leader in Johto and Kanto! I finished third in the Pokemon League Championship behind Crystal and Lance! I can handle myself pretty well."

She sneered at him. "Oh, then why haven't I heard of you before?"

"Well...that's because..."

"Anyways take me back! I'm a gym leader and I'm not supposed to run from a fight, even if I am an international star!"

He looked over at Wiggler, who looked exhausted. After enduring that massive blow from the bug and having to teleport them all away, he could see why he'd need a break. "Well, I was planning to go back but it looks like that won't be happening soon."

"Huh, why?"

"Because Wiggler is exhausted. He's in no shape to be whisking us away here and there. Maybe once he reco-"

"The fight might be over by then! Maybe if you were smart and had some good Pokemon, you wouldn't have this problem."

"H-hey! My team does just fine!"

She grinned. "Fine enough that you were only able to get third?"

He ignored that little barb and sat down next to Wiggler. Wiggler sat up but he still looked pretty ragged. He put his hand on his head. "Yo, it's okay. Just relax for now. I'm sure Jasmine can handle herself...I hope."

"What's your business with her anyways?"

"Huh? Oh she's my friend."

Homika laughed. "So is that what you do, try to make friends with gym leaders to make-"

"How about you tell me why Team Rocket would crash your concert?"

She folded her arms. "They obviously have poor taste in music, that's for sure! I mean they could have picked any other concert to crash but-"

"That isn't telling me anything," he said with a sigh. He crossed his legs Indian style and smiled. "I think you're hiding something. Team Rocket wouldn't have any reason to crash this party unless they were after something."

"You sure know a lot about them."

He shrugged. "Hey, I already said I've tangled with them in the past. I know how they work. They aren't stupid."

She put her hands in her pockets. "Well...there might be something," she said, a nervous look forming on her face. He and Wiggler shared a knowing look and he snapped his fingers.

"I knew it! There had to be something! So what is it?"

She scratched her cheek before pulling a Pokeball out of her pocket. "I stole this when I broke into one of their labs. I was kind of bored after a concert and took a walk when I came across this strange looking lab."

"A lab? Where was this?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I was kind of drunk."

Wiggler let out a squeak and Ethan couldn't help but share his sentiment. "Kind of drunk? What's that supposed to mean?"

Homika laughed. "I wasn't buzzed good enough yet. What do you expect from a rock star?"

He and Wiggler exchanged a look. "I don't know, what am I supposed to expect?"

She let out a sigh and shook her head. "You're hopeless."

"Well anyways, so you don't remember much of anything from this lab? Like what else was in it or if they were working on something?"

She shrugged. "Nope. Why do you care though? Do you plan to go and stop them or something? Only really good trainers can do something like that."

"Do you remember where the lab was at?"

She yawned. "Somewhere in south Unova I believe. I really can't remember much though."

"Well maybe once we meet up with Jasmine again, we can go check it out. If they're up to no good, then-"

"You really are dead set on screwing up their plans, aren't you?"

He nodded. "Of course. Me, Jasmine and Wiggler have tangled with them several times and they've always been up to no good, whether it was causing the Magikarp in the Lake of Rage to forcibly evolve or trying to take over the radio tower in Goldenrod."

Homika laughed. "Well perhaps you do know a little something about Team Rocket," she said. She summoned her Pokemon back. "Fine, let's go check out that lab."

"Huh but what about Jasmine?"

She rolled her eyes. "You sure are concerned about a gym leader. She's a gym leader for a reason, she can handle herself. You on the other hand, will need the help of a gym leader if you hope to get anything done."

He and Wiggler again shared a look. Perhaps overwhelming self-confidence was a trait for becoming a gym leader, or maybe it was because she was such a big star. "Well I guess I see your point. We can go look for this lab. Once Wiggler recovers, we can-"

"Again why are we depending on your weak Pokemon? My Crobat can get us there in a jiffy. And that's a pretty long trip anyways."

Wiggler let out a squeak of protest but Ethan just put his hand on his head and winked at him. "Fine, I'll let you lead since you are the gym leader and all."

That earned other curious squeak from Wiggler but he pulled the balloon like Pokemon close. "Don't worry, we'll just prove to her how good we can be. That shouldn't be too hard, right? Just ignore her little barbs, she wants a reaction."

"Do you even have a Pokemon that can fly? How do you get around?"

"My bike usually but I have a flying Pokemon too. He's not a part of my main team so I don't always have him around."

She rolled her eyes. "A bike? That's just great. It's a miracle you accomplished anything!"

They landed in the outskirts of a large port city by the name of Driftveil. In a way, it reminded him of Vermillion except while Vermillion was more of a sea port for large cruisers and the like, Driftveil was more of a blue collar town, where many of the ships were ones used to ship supplies in and out of town. Staring out across the sea, he could see what looked like a small army of sailboats and small fishing ships. "Wow, this is awesome! I can't believe I'm in Unova! I've heard so much about it!"

Wiggler let out a squeak and pointed to one of the sailboats. "Huh, what are they for? They're for fishing!"

His eyes grew wide at the sound of that and he let out another squeak. "What, they aren't fishing for things like Magikarp, just regular fish."

Wiggler seemed satisfied with the answer and he took a deep breath in, the cool and salty air tickling his nose.

"Is this your first time to the sea? You're acting like a kid," Homika said.

Wiggler began to fire back an angry response but he put his hand on his head instead. "It's just been a while. And this is my first time to Unova. All of the other regions are kind of close to each other but not Unova. It's all off away from everywhere else so you don't get a chance to visit like you would everywhere else."

She rolled her eyes. "I guess. Whatever so this city is called Driftveil City. We're only here because we can grab a boat to take us to southern Unova."

"Southern Unova?"

"Yes, you know like...Southern Unova. It's the southern part of Unova."

He and Wiggler exchanged a look. He looked up at the sky and saw a small bird flying above. It reminded him of an eaglet though this one was light blue and had a single plume in the middle of its bushy head. It floated down to a nearby tree, landing to rest. "Wow, that's the first time I've seen a Pokemon like that. What is it called Homika?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's a Rufflet, just a baby Pokemon. You see them around quite a bit in the mountains and areas near water."

He searched his pockets in vain for a spare Pokeball and grumbled when he remembered they were all in the backpack. He looked at her. "Do you have an extra Pokeball?"

"What, you're going to catch it?"

"Yea, since my other Pokemon are captured, I'm gonna need some more in the meantime. Unless you want to-"

She reached into her pocket and tossed him on. "Glad to see you're trying to pull your weight around here. Maybe in time you will carry your weight around for once."

He ignored her and looked over at Wiggler. "Okay Wiggler, how about we send it to dreamland?"

Wiggler stepped forward but what came from his lungs wasn't the soothing melody he hoped for but a loud screeching sound akin to nails on a chalkboard. He winced in pain while Homika yelled at him. "What is going on? Why is your tranny bunny so awful at singing? I thought it was the one thing they had going for them? He's awful!"

The Rufflet let out a screech of its own and suddenly dove at Wiggler, probably in protest of its terrible singing. Wiggler must have expected it because he tossed his head forward and delivered a head butt straight to the small bird. The Rufflet bounced off Wiggler like a pinball and fluttered backward, stunned by the hit. Wiggler let out a squeak and waddled after the bird. The Rufflet fluttered down to the ground, just as Wiggler rolled toward it like a bowling ball. He smacked into the small bird, knocking it flat on its back.

He kept rolling for a few feet before coming to a stop but it did the trick, as the little bird was nowhere near as energetic as it once was. Ethan smiled as he tossed the Pokeball toward it, capturing it inside. It moved around a bit before the light on the button flashed and he snapped his fingers. "Hah, got it! That was great Wiggler!"

Wiggler let out a happy squeak of his own and Ethan smiled. "You mean you meant to sing a bad tune so it'd get it angry and attack you in anger? And it worked? Well I got to say, that's some great thinking."

"Wait, wait...you just let your Pokemon fight? Without giving it any instructions?" Homika asked. He nodded.

"Sure, don't you? They've been doing this for long enough, I figure they know what to do by now. I don't need to tell them what to do unless there is something specific we need to do."

She pursed her lips. "I see."

That was it? He half expected another smart aleck remark from her. He picked up the Pokeball and tapped it against his cheek. "So now what do we call him? It's a he, right?" He asked, looking at her. She shrugged.

"The entire Rufflet line is male."

"Oh cool. So now what do we call him? Maybe we can call him...Swoop!"

"Swoop? What kind of stupid name is that? Who names a Rufflet, Swoop?" Homika said, the mean spirited side coming out again. Wiggler let out a suggestion of his own.

"Pitch? Did you get that name from that one videogame? Huh, now that I think about it, it seems like it work. Both are small birds and pretty quick-"

"You know that little bird will grow up, right?"

"I kind of figured it would. Most small Pokemon usually evolve into something bigger and much more fearsome looking. It's practically traditional...well except cases like Wiggler here."

She sighed, just as they heard someone scream. At first he thought it was a girl but actually a man came running up to them. He looked to be in his late twenties or maybe early thirties, hard to tell. He was decked in nothing but gear with either Homika's image or her icon on it. He looked more like a walking advertisement than an actual person and as he ran up to them, he let out another one of those girly screams. "Wow Wiggler, he sounds worse than you when you're off key," Ethan said. Wiggler let out a squeak, suggesting this guy was far worse. Perhaps he was right, he was pretty used to Wiggler's off key singing by now.

"Homika, Homika...I can't believe it's you! It's really you! I'm like your biggest fan; I've been following you ever since you started at Starmie Records and then after you left there and started your own studio! I have all your CD's, including the limited releases and the solo tracks as well. I even started the local chapter of the Homika fan club...uhhh...ahhh who is this guy?" He asked, his expression turning from pure joy and to a seething rage. Looks like he had found himself in a bad situation.

"I'm just traveling around Unova and I ran into her-"

"Actually he's my new boyfriend," she said as she scooted closer to him and hooked her arm under his. Wiggler let out a squeak of surprise. "I just try to keep him under wraps because of the problems it would cause."

Problems, what problems? He looked to Wiggler for help but the balloon seemed just as confused as him. The man frowned.

"Boyfriend? Well I guess that makes sense but...I thought you just had groupies that you went through every night. You're the most beautiful, most sexiest rock star around, why do you need to commit to one guy?"

Suddenly he realized he didn't want to be a part of this conversation. And that he'd rather be out hunting for new Pokemon. She laughed. "Of course, I still have my groupies I can go through each night but I do get tired of them. Of course being my biggest fan and all, can I trust you to keep this a secret? I mean if word got out, I fear for this guy's poor life."

The guy saluted her. "Yes, of course! Your secret is safe with me. I won't let it get out to anyone! Could I ask you to sign some of my stuff? I'd really appreciate it!"

She sneered. "Well only because you're doing this favor for me! Otherwise I wouldn't bother!"

He laughed. "Haha, I knew the tsundere side of you would come out eventually! I mean-"

"Hey, stop slobbering and hand the stuff over! I don't got all day and if the word gets out that I'm in town, I won't be able to go anywhere without people mobbing me!"

Considering she stood out like a sore thumb, he kind of found that hard to believe someone hadn't noticed them already. After she chased the over eager fan away, she looked at him and laughed. "What?"

"Nothing."

"And what was he talking about when he mentioned groupies?"

"Wow, you really are a country boy, how many times do you get out of your farm?"

Wiggler let out a squeak and he looked over at him. "Did you just say I don't want to know?"

Wiggler nodded and Homika grumbled. "Oh he's just being a spoilsport. Maybe if you can carry your weight for once, I'll let you get to play the part one night."

"I don't know what you're getting at but something tells me I should pass. Besides, shouldn't we be trying to find Team Rocket? That's what we came here to do, right?"

"Yea-"

"Could I see that Pokemon you stole?"

She brushed aside her hair and looked around. "After we get away from here. I don't want the word to get out I'm in town."

They finally left the port town and traveled west along the tree-lined path of Route 6. Off in the distance he could see an entrance to a cave, something that piqued his interest right away. "Hey, what's that cave?"

"Chargestone Cave. The inside contains a lot of magnets and is occupied by the electric spider Pokemon known as Joltik," she said. His eyes grew wide.

"An electric spider Pokemon? That sounds awesome!"

"Awesome? It's a spider!"

He and Wiggler shared a look. "So? Why do you mind? Aren't you a Poison type gym leader? A lot of bug Pokemon are also Poison-"

"Spiders are a special kind of evil," she said, folding her arms. He raised an eyebrow.

"A special kind of-"

"We aren't going to that cave, and that's final!"

"Oh, okay. A cave full of magnets, huh? Jasmine would probably love to come visit this place," he said, looking at Wiggler. Wiggler nodded in agreement and he heard Homika grumble.

"You sure do worry a lot about her. Isn't she a gym leader? She can take care of herself."

"Yea but-"

"But nothing. There's a reason she's a gym leader and you aren't."

He winced at that. "Well, I guess I can't argue there."

Wiggler let out a squeak of surprise and Homika smiled. She poked her finger into his chest. "And we're getting sidetracked, again. You wanted to see the Pokemon I stole, here it is," she said as she produced the Pokeball. He took it and looked at it before he summoned the Pokemon inside. It was a small Pokemon but resembled a Japanese shogun. It's armor was mainly red and black but there were quite a few gold pieces including a large crescent moon symbol attached to the front of what appeared to be its helmet. It had two blades on its arms, which were as long as its arms. It looked up at them with its beady red eyes and he whistled.

"Wow, now this is a cool looking Pokemon. What do you call it?"

"I don't know, I just stole him from the lab. He kind of resembles Bisharp-"

"What's a Bisharp?" Ethan asked. She began to look annoyed, complete with the rolling eyes motion but she must have remembered he was new to the region because she took out a Pokedex and handed it to him. On the screen was the entry and a picture of Bisharp. He looked it over for a few before Wiggler let out a squeak. "Oh here, ya go."

He handed it to Wiggler who looked it over as well before flipping it back to him. "Hey, don't just toss it around? I paid good money for that! It's not a toy!" She said, directing her ire towards Wiggler. Ethan handed it to her.

"Sorry about that."

She snatched it back. "Just watch your puffball. He doesn't want to see my bad side."

He nodded. "So that's a Bisharp? So many of the Unova Pokemon looks so cool! I can't wait to see more of them!"

"I hope you're kidding."

He and Wiggler shared a look. "Should I?"

"A lot of the Pokemon here are horrible looking. I have to wonder who was the genius behind Pokemon like Garbodor, Ferrothorn or Vanillish."

He smiled. "I think you're just being a bit-"

"Harsh? Oh please get off your high horse. I bet there are Pokemon you hate the look of. You can't possibly tell me you like every Pokemon. If you are, you're a liar!" She said, jabbing a finger into his face.

"Well there-"

"Liar!"

"I meant to say-"

"Liar!"

"What I'm trying to-"

"Liar!"

He let out a sigh. "Well...okay, there might be a few I don't care for but we're getting off the subject!"

She laughed and licked her lips. "Oh so when you want to get off topic and go on a tangent, it's okay but when I want to do it, it's wrong? Hehe, I see how it is."

Wiggler let out a squeak. "Now you're just screwing with me."

She gave him an innocent look. "Am I?"

He looked at the Pokemon again. "So what's so special about him? Other than the fact he looks cool."

She nodded. "Well there has not been a recorded evolution of Bisharp. He's supposed to be the final evolution in the line."

Wiggler let out a loud squeak. "Wait, are you saying that Team Rocket is trying to create new species of Pokemon?"

"They want to rule the world, right? Why not try to make some super powerful Pokemon to accomplish it? That might do the trick, wouldn't it?"

He nodded. "That probably would. I'm just stunned they would try and do it. The last time someone tried to do that, it didn't work out too well."

"Huh?"

He folded his arms. "You didn't hear about Mewtwo? It was created to be the strongest Pokemon but eventually went mad, broke out of the underground lab and killed most of the researchers."

"Oh wow...well maybe they figured a way to ensure that doesn't happen? Who cares? They're Team Rocket!"

He rubbed his chin. "Wow, if this is what they're up to, we can't let them get away with this. Experimenting on Pokemon and forcing them to evolve further...that's awful!"

"Yea so now we just got to find them. And if they don't want to be found...well you know."

Ethan laughed. "I'm not too worried about that. Wiggler and me have a way of...running into Team Rocket. Even when we aren't looking for them, we'll somehow bump into them or one of their plots."

"Heh, well I'll have to see it happen before I believe you," she said as she summoned the Pokemon back to its ball. "So let's get going then, if we keep wasting time, they would have moved on!"

"So how do we get there? You said it's in South Unova so I'm guessing it's a bit of a ways from here."

"We can catch a boat like I said earlier or we can just surf there on a Pokemon."

He looked over at Wiggler. "I don't think Wiggler would care much for being a surfboard."

Wiggler let out a squeak and she grumbled. "I said surf not float. If we relied on her, it'd take us a year to get there!"

"Him."

She poked her finger into his chest. "You know, we're gonna catch you some real Pokemon, not some freaking' mascots. And you're gonna thank me."

"Real Pokemon? What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see. Let's just get going."

From what he had seen of Unova, Southern Unova didn't seem much different. They landed on a white sandy beach and she hopped off the back of the Lapras and stretched out her arms. "Ahhh, finally back."

He patted the Lapras on the head and could hear her grumble. "What now?"

"You're wasting time!"

"Still, we should thank this Lapras for ferrying-"

"It's their job to do that. And you're hindering its job by being all sappy."

Nonetheless, he wished the Pokemon farewell and hopped onto the sand. He walked over to her and looked over at the line of tropical trees that lay before them. "So is this a jungle in front of us?"

"Yea, it stretches for quite a while. I haven't bothered exploring it."

He folded his arms. "Well, that's not good but I think I have an idea," he said. He took out the Pokeball holding Pitch and summoned the bird. He looked to Wiggler. "Yo Wiggler, can you tell him to go fly up above the trees and see if he can see anything interesting?"

Wiggler nodded and began to converse with the little bird. Soon the Rufflet had taken the skies and disappeared behind the treetops. "That reminds me, just how do you understand that puffball's squeaks? It sounds like gibberish to me but you seem like you can interpret it just fine."

He turned to look at her and shrugged. "I don't really know, I just do. I seem to understand what all of my Pokemon say but only after I get to know them. Me and Wiggler have been partners forever so that's why."

She frowned. "You don't know?"

"I don't!"

"Whatever. So what other Pokemon do you have? Maybe we can find you some real Pokemon in the meantime."

He glared at her. "Real Pokemon? All of my Pokemon are great; I almost got to the Pokemon League Finals with them! I just ran into Crystal and she was familiar with me team-"

Homika laughed. "Excuses. No one cares who got third place, or second for that matter. Only first matters."

"Ahhh oh...well other than Wiggler and Pitch, some of the other Pokemon I have or had were Aries the Tauros, Rai the Raichu, Juan the Ludicolo, Crunk the Steelix and... That's about it. There was also Vile the Vileplume but I released him so he could protect the Oddish in the Ilex Forest."

She rubbed her chin. "You need a Poison Pokemon then."

"No I don't!"

"Of course you do! You know the benefits of having a Poison Pokemon? You can inflict a bunch of status ailments on your opponent and then take advantage! And considering the Pokemon you have, they could use every advantage they can get."

"My Pokemon do just-"

"You know, just because I live in Unova, far away from the other regions doesn't mean I'm blind to what goes on over there. I was at that Pokemon League Tournament you entered. I was one of the opening acts for it."

His eyes grew wide. "You were? I don't remember-"

Wiggler let out a squeak and he looked over at him. "You remember her being there? Wow, I guess I was too nervous about the tournament to remember."

"Anyways!" She said, getting his attention again. "I was there at the tournament. I was planning to just leave after I was finished but I heard something about a trainer using an unorthodox team and decided to stick around."

"You saw me compete?"

She nodded. "Yes, I did. I thought your team was stupid and didn't know how you were going to compete with it but you ripped through that bracket with ease. You pretty much handled every gym leader you ran into and I was real shocked that you almost beat Crystal to get to the finals but we all know how that turned out."

"Oh well, thanks."

She folded her arms. "I just think that with your unorthodox style, if you added a Poison Pokemon to your team, you could go even farther. It would sort of fit in how you do things. For crying out loud, you rely on your puffball trying to either put opponents to sleep or giving them a splitting migraine! Your pineapple needed to mesmerize opponents with its singing and dancing until it powered up. And we won't even talk about your electric rat and its-"

"Wow, you know quite a bit of my strategy," he said, sharing a surprised look with Wiggler.

"Didn't I tell you I watched? Anyways, that's how I see it."

"I'll think about it," he said as Pitch returned. The little bird flew down to the ground next to Wiggler and chirped something to him. Wiggler looked at him and squeaked his response. "So he thought he saw something that looked like a trailer with a Team Rocket logo several miles in. If there's a truck, a base might not be too far away."

"Maybe."

He did a double take. "Maybe? Why maybe?"

"It could be just a diversion. Make people think there is a base here when there actually isn't. That way they waste time combing the area, looking for a base while Team Rocket conducts business elsewhere."

"But you came across a base around here," he said. Homika looked at the sky.

"Well...yes but like I said, I was sloppy drunk so maybe it was around here..."

"You've got to be kidding me," he said. He shook his head and shared an annoyed look with Wiggler. Glad to know he wasn't the only one feeling frustrated. "So now we're not sure if there's anything even here or not. Why were you sloppy drunk anyway?"

"Duh, I'm a rock star! We go on drunken binges like that all the time, especially after concerts!"

"Still doesn't answer my question."

She laughed. "What's it matter to you? Are you concerned about me?"

"What, am I supposed to not be?"

"H-huh, what?" She said, looking a bit stunned. "Considering all the times I've made fun of you, poked fun at your Pokemon or just...what I'm saying is why would you be so nice to me after all of that? Are you stupid or something?"

"Do you want me to be mean to you?"

"No! I mean...augh, you country folk are just too hard to figure out," she said, throwing her arms up in frustration. He and Wiggler shrugged.

"Well, let's get going. I want to see if what Pitch saw, leads to something."

As they neared closer to the spot where Pitch said he saw the truck, he could hear the sound of trucks, multiple ones at that. In the near distance he could make out several trucks entering and exiting the jungle. "So there's a road back here. Huh, that's surprising."

"Because there isn't a road leading out?" He asked. She nodded.

"Yea, exactly! I mean like where is it? There aren't any roads leading in and out of this jungle so where does it go?"

"Underground maybe?"

Homika chuckled. "Underground tunnels? Hah, you're making this seem like one of those underground bases you see in those spy movies."

He and Wiggler shared a look. "Well, we've been in places like those already."

"You...what? Are you trying to pull a fast one on me or something?"

"Do I look like I would?"

She shrugged. "Whatever, let's just get closer. I want to see what they're up to!"

Wiggler let out a loud squeak and he shot a glare at him. "Hey, not so loud! We can't be sure if they got cameras in here or...yahhh!"

Buzzing behind them was a large bee like Pokemon, resembling a Roman soldier of sorts with two candy cane striped drills on its arms. It dove at them, stinger first but he and Wiggler ducked out of the way. He watched it fly off and turn back around in a wide arc. "Wow, an Escavalier, don't see those around often."

"Why is it attacking? What did I do?"

She laughed. "Oh you disturbed its territory. They're real protective of their territory and any intruders will get stabbed until they leave. Or it's knocked out. One of the two!"

He ducked another one of its dives and he adjusted his cap. "Oh, so it's a bug at least."

"Yea but you aren't carrying any Fire Pokemon on you so how do you-"

"Wiggler, give it a taste of its own medicine!"

Wiggler looked at him with a confused look and he spurted out a nervous laugh. "Um, I mean do your thing!"

"Watch out!"

He and Wiggler dove out of the way as the armored bug made another attempt at them. He was anything if persistent. Just looking at the stingers gave him chills. Wiggler sucked in some air before letting out a stream of fire that flew right into the path of the incoming Escavalier. The bug flew right through the stream but when it came out the other side, its flight was erratic and not as sharp as before. He still had to duck out of the way but Wiggler followed it and continued to blow more fire on it. It turned around and in an act of desperation, fired off its large red stinger at Wiggler like a gun fired by a drunk. Wiggler stopped its fire-eater impression and puffed himself up instead, causing the needle to bounce off harmlessly.

The Escavalier hovered close to the ground, its body red from being sprayed with fire. He reached for a Pokeball before realizing the terrible truth. "Oh...hahaha-"

"Again? I thought you picked up some of your own!" She said as she tossed him one. She folded her arms. "First thing we steal is some Pokeballs."

He tossed it at the Escavalier. "Knowing my luck, all those Pokeballs we see lying around will be occupied with stolen Pokemon. It's Team Rocket's specialty."

"Then it'll be our specialty to mess their plans up! I hope you're ready because we're gonna-"

"You simply expect us to walk in? We're gonna need disguises."

She gave him a fat lip. "Disguises? I'm a gym leader, one of the last ones at that, meaning I'm tougher than most of them. Sneaking around in disguises is for like rookie trainers or detectives!"

He picked up the Pokeball holding the armored insect and held it to his mouth. "You think? Lance used to be the Champion and he disguised himself when him and me snuck into the Team Rocket base in Johto. I figure if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me!"

"You make it sound so simple."

He put away the Pokeball. "Well all we have to do is grab two Team Rocket goons close to our size and take their uniforms. We tie the others up and keep them somewhere safe."

"Yea but finding two Team Rocket who are about our size-"

Wiggler interrupted her with a squeak and he looked over at him. "Huh? You thought you heard something nearby? Let's check it out!"

Their search led them closer to the trucks as the sound of the vehicles grew louder and louder. Soon he could make out a large dirt road that cut through the jungle. Standing next to a glass guard booth were two Team Rocket goons, a guy and a young woman. To his pleasant surprise, the guy looked around his size while the woman didn't look much bigger than Homika. The man had short black hair and a small scar under his right eye, even though the eye mask was covering part of his face. He waved a truck in and looked over at the blonde haired woman. "What a drag, all these trucks to process. We've been at this all day."

"Well they did say this was the big week. They just didn't tell us why."

He chuckled. "It's still pretty amazing how long we've been running this place and no one in Unova has suspected us."

"Yea, that city to the south of us even has a gym leader! Imagine how stupid she must be-"

"Hey, I like her music!" She said, the man taken aback by this outburst. He laughed nervously.

"Hey, I didn't say anything bad about her music! She's a great singer! I bought all of her CD's! I even have a poster of her in my room!"

"You do? Which one? There are several I've been looking for but haven't been able to find them."

He and Wiggler looked over at Homika, who wore an amused look on her face. "The things I have to live with. Those stupid goobers."

"G-g-goobers?"

She shrugged. "It's what I call all my rabid fans...and there are a lot of them."

"Then why are you insulting them?"

"It's not insulting. They know I call them that and they don't mind. They've even taken a liking to it. The official fan club endorsed by me is even called a gathering of Goobers."

He shook his head. "It still sounds kind of mean."

The woman suddenly looked in their direction, even though they were hiding behind some foliage. "Huh, did you hear something? I thought I heard something."

"Not a thing really. It's probably just a Pokemon out there. The jungle is full of them you know."

She shook her head. "No, it kind of sounded like voices. Human voices. I'm going to check it out."

He shrugged. "It's probably nothing but if you insist."

They ducked lower behind the bushes and he looked over at Wiggler. "You know what to do."

"Ugh, I wish we could find some unused uniforms. I bet hers will be all sweaty and smelly."

He smiled. "It probably will be but it's only for a short time. Once we're done poking around, we can ditch them."

"Wouldn't it be smarter to grab the uniforms of some members who aren't patrolling the guard shack? If we nab their uniforms, we'll just be stuck out here."

"Well it's almost six in the evening."

"Yea, so?"

"Hey, who's there? I hear you talking all right!"

Wiggler suddenly let out a soothing and calming melody, the kind a mother might sing to a baby or young child at bedtime. In a matter of a minute, the young woman slumped over the bushes they were hiding behind, sleeping like a baby. Homika yawned. "That...works too well."

"You're lucky you didn't fall asleep too. It's a pretty potent weapon. Now all we need you to do is get the other one over here and I can swipe his uniform."

"You still haven't explained why we're taking the uniforms of some people on guard patrol."

He laughed. "Oh yea, well it's almost 6 and a lot of guards work on a twelve hour schedule. Either they would come in at 6 in the morning or the evening. I remember that's how it was when I snuck into some of their hideouts."

Her mouth fell open. "I'm...amazed you would even remember a stupid little detail like that."

"Yea well, I remember all kinds of wacky stuff."

She nodded. "Well time to get dressed."

Soon she was decked out in full Team Rocket gear. Using some of the vines nearby, he had tied the young woman and hid her behind a large tree. Homika looked it over and groaned. "Ugly, why do they go around in these things? Especially in a hot jungle, it doesn't make any sense!"

"Nothing Team Rocket does make sense."

"Fine, fine. Well let's just get this over with," she said. She turned and motioned to the man at the guard shack. "Hey, hey. I think I found something interesting!"

"What...but I can't leave the guard shack...this better be quick! This will look bad. I know we're almost through with our shift but still!"

He hurried over but as he did, Ethan and Wiggler scurried away from their hideout and moved around him in a wide circle, hoping to get him surrounded. They used the thick foliage around as cover and it was a good thing too because he began to slow when he got closer. "Hey, you aren't Louri! Who are you and what did you do with her?"

Homika took off her mask. "Stupid goober. You didn't recognize the voice of your queen?"

"H-H-H-Homika? What are you doing out here?" He said, stuttering like a dumbstruck fool. Then again, if he were a huge Homika fan, it'd have to be pretty shocking to see your favorite singer out here in the hot jungle.

"What am I doing here? What do you think I'm doing here, dressed in a Team Rocket uniform and walking around in this hot jungle for?"

"W-w-well..."

"And why do you guys wear black anyways? Don't you know that wearing black in the heat will hinder your performance?"

"Well, it is the official color of Team Rocket, we're expected to wear it."

She shook her head. "Terrible. You see what happens when you wear it in the jungle? You become slow and you make terrible decisions!"

"T-t-terrible deci-" He didn't get to finish as Ethan and Wiggler smacked him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. He looked down at him and then at her.

"That was too easy. Are they all that stupid?" She said as she put her hat back on.

"No, I think this is why they're stuck doing guard duty. In my experience, the dumbest ones get stuck with the easiest, most simple jobs," he said.

She chuckled. "You sure do know a lot about how they operate."

"Like I said, we've tangled quite a bit in the past."

They returned to the guard post and just in time too because another large truck had shown up. The back of it was tied down with a large olive tarp but he could see what looked like large crates under it. What they were filled with was anyone's guess. The man poked his head out the window. "Hey, can you make this quick? I'm running a bit late here."

Ethan nodded. "Of course, no problem," he said. He walked over and grabbed the man's paperwork from him, pretending to really look it over.

"So are you guys excited?"

"Excited?" Homika asked.

"You know, about the address today. The leader of Team Rocket is visiting here today and speaking about our goals and plans. It's gonna be great!"

Ethan handed the papers back to him. "Of course! We wouldn't miss it for the world! This is the first time I'll get to see him."

"It'll be the first time anyone has seen him, since he went into hiding."

"Why did he go into hiding? It seems real odd someone like him would have to do that," Homika asked. The man frowned.

"Well...you didn't hear it from me but I heard he suffered a crushing defeat from a trainer that has given them a lot of trouble in the past."

"I've heard about him."

"Ha, yea, who hasn't? Some trainer like that, causing trouble for us in the past?"

Homika laughed. "Maybe he should put a bounty on this trainer's head."

The man laughed as well. "I don't think they have but I've heard the bosses have made it very clear that anyone who can either capture or deal with Ethan, will earn themselves a nice little reward and promotion. He's that big of a problem."

After the guy left, Ethan looked over at her and she smirked. "I didn't realize you had such a reputation."

"Yea well...it's kind of strange to hear your name mentioned with such disgust. Maybe I was wrong about you."

He looked away. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I thought you were just some big headed trainer with no accomplishments to his name but you're turning out to be quite the trainer."

He sighed. "You said you already knew about my performance in the Pokemon League."

"Of course! But being able to compete in Pokemon League championships is one thing. Being a little troublemaker and being enemy number one for a notorious gang? That's pretty cool."

"Are you trying to pull my leg or something?"

She shot a glare at him. "No, why should I be?"

"Well is just seems odd for you to be complimenting me when you usually just poke fun at me," he said. He noticed a couple of men approach the guard shack, also dressed in Team Rocket uniforms. Perhaps they were taking over the next shift?

"Well yes but that was before-"

"Hey you two! They need some help unloading crates inside the base pronto!"

"Huh, but our shift just ended! Don't we get a break?" Homika asked. The two men looked at each other and laughed. "Or...maybe not."

"Break? Not when we're supposed to have an address from Giovanni himself! There will be time for rest later. Besides, if he sees you two resting, he'll have your heads!"

Ethan nodded. "Of course! We're right on it!"

One of the men leaned forward and looked into his eyes. "Wait, who are you? You don't look like the usual two who are on guard duty at this time."

"Huh? Oh, those two had to help with something else for the address so they asked us to cover for them."

The man rubbed his chin. "I see...what are your names?"

Ethan sighed. "We're wasting time here but my name is Dennis."

"And I'm Holly."

"Holly? You know...has anyone told you this but you really look a lot like Homika?"

She giggled, causing him to do a double take. If Wiggler were outside his ball, he'd probably have the same expression. "Yes, yes. She's my favorite singer in the whole wide world so I just had to do my hair like hers! I'm glad you think I look like her!"

"You even have the freckles and everything. You did a great job!"

The other man cleared his throat. "You two should really get going. The bosses will get angry if you hold them up."

Ethan saluted them before and pulled her away. As they got away from the guard shack and closer to the entrance to the underground base, he could hear her gag. "Ugh! I can't believe I had to act like that! Like, like one of them!"

"Goobers you mean?"

"Yes! I mean I know I'm like super awesome and the great rock star the world has ever seen but sometimes it gets silly the attention I get!" She said. She rolled her eyes. "Goobers all over the world practically cream themselves anytime they see me."

"I thought that's what you want. Why you act the way you do."

She laughed. "Of course I do but sometimes I get tired of it. Why do you treat me just like a regular person?"

He shrugged. "I don't know...I guess I've dealt with crime bosses, Pokemon gym leaders, Champions...the god Pokemon...I guess I've just seen it all already."

"Well you'll have to tell me more one of these days."

They walked through the large doors of the base, the first area filled with large trucks. There were countless Team Rocket members helping unload the trucks, which seem to consist of nothing but unmarked wooden crates and taking them into the back of the base. Over the loudspeakers he could hear a man barking out orders to everyone else. Despite that, everyone looked to be in good spirits, perhaps in anticipation of Giovanni's address.

"Why are they so darn cheery?"

He laughed. "Giovanni is the boss of Team Rocket. He's been gone for a while but the fact that he's returning is probably a big boon to everyone's confidence. The other leaders did their best but there is no one tougher than him."

She frowned. "I guess."

He approached one of the trucks. A white haired man stood at the back of the truck and scowled at him. "Why does Team Rocket keep hiring these scrawny recruits? Pathetic."

"I'm not that weak! It's not my fault I got banished to guard duty. I'd prefer to be out there, stealing Pokemon from trainers."

He laughed. "Hah, you don't look like the stealing type. Too green."

Ethan shrugged. "We all have to start somewhere."

The man pushed one of the crates forward with his boot. "Try not to drop that. Maybe your little lady friend can help you if it's too heavy, hahaha!"

Ethan grabbed the crate and lifted it off the back of the truck. It was heavy but not too bad for him. "So where am I taking this?"

"Heh, not bad. Take it to the back of the base where everyone else is unloading the stuff, and then get your tail back here. We don't have a lot of time."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Homika asked. He took one look at her and laughed.

"You? Hahaha, maybe give your friend some water because he's gonna need it after unloading all these crates!"

Ethan waddled toward the back with Homika close in tow. "You know, if I can, I'd love to pop him a good one!"

"Try to control yourself. We're a bit outnumbered here. I'd love to show him up too but ugh...why do they have to wear all black in such a hot area?"

"There's a nice breeze in here actually."

He sighed. "Wish I could feel it."

She chuckled. "You want to know how I can feel it?"

Something told him he didn't want to, at least not yet. "I'll pass for now."

Toward the back, a large pyramid of crates had begun to materialize. He set it down on the ground and wiped the sweat off his head. "That was a bit tougher than I thought."

He turned and almost bumped into another Team Rocket member. He jumped to the side at the last moment to avoid him and the guy grumbled at him. "Hey watch where you're going! These crates are heavy!" He said as he gasped for air. That voice sure sounded familiar though. As he got another look, he realized it was Carr.

"Stop being such a big baby Carr! I told you to lay off the cinnamon bun flavored ice cream! You go through almost a pint a day! Your fat butt can't get any bigger...and then you surprise me and become fatter!" Lyra chirped. He began to pull down the bill of his cap, just as Lyra noticed him. "Hmm, I swear I've seen you before."

"Sorry, I don't think we've met. I'm a green recruit."

She leaned forward. "You are? Because I swear I've seen you somewhere before, I'd never forget a cute face like that!"

"Lyra, do you have to hit on every guy you see?"

She shot a glare in his direction. "Quiet Carr! You aren't any better when you get all tongue tied around older women!"

Homika tugged his arm. "We better get going, you don't want to get in trouble, right?"

For once, he agreed with her. Lyra giggled. "Oh, are we getting a bit jealous? Afraid I'm going to steal your partner away?"

Homika brushed back her hair. "I'm more worried about Giovanni seeing us waste time arguing over boys when we should be helping finish unload the crates. I'm a bit interested in hearing him speak but I don't want to get on his bad side just yet."

Again, he couldn't disagree with her. Lyra laughed and slapped Homika on the back, a bit harder than she expected. "Ha-ha, I can't argue with that one bit! All right, let's get back to work then! Don't want to get the big boss annoyed."

They left the two and walked back toward the truck. "Well, you handled that pretty well."

Homika faked a gag. "I wanted to smack her a good one."

"Well I'm just glad she didn't recognize me. That would've been bad for us."

She groaned. "You sound like such a wimp-"

"Well if I had my full team of Pokemon, I'd feel a lot better. Kind of tough when you're down to just two, and you just caught one of them recently."

"You forgot I'm with you, the queen of Poison Pokemon!"

He laughed. "And Team Rocket has nothing but Poisonous Pokemon so it'd end up being a stalemate!"

"Oh shut up."

A couple of hours later, they had finished unloading the truck and it was a good thing too because the PA system cracked to life again, ordering everyone to the main hall. They followed the throngs of Team Rocket members into the main hall, basically a huge open room with large flags of Team Rocket dangling from the ceiling and a large stage before them. The room didn't have a chair to sit in, except for the ones on the stage, occupied by various Team Rocket leaders, some he had tangled with before like Archer and Ariana. He could only imagine the looks on their faces if they knew he was here. "So they're all here again."

"Huh, you know some of them?"

Ethan laughed. "Yea, we've met several times before. They wouldn't be happy to see me again, that's for sure."

Suddenly several spotlights appeared onstage and Giovanni walked across the stage and to the large wooden stand that lay in the middle of the stage. Everyone erupted into thunderous praise, cheers and applause as he took it all in. Ethan could only muster a slow clap while Homika didn't even bother with that. He soon raised his hand for silence and it went dead silent.

To be honest, Ethan didn't remember much from the address. Giovanni didn't go into any specifics about their plan, instead talking about Team Rocket, the ideals they stood for and the general plan they had for world domination. The standard kind of thing he expected. Perhaps he didn't go into specifics for fear that there might be a spy in the midst? If he was as smart as Ethan figured, that was probably it. However, the address soon took a turn for the interesting.

"And now before I conclude this, I would like to talk about those that would hinder our plan and how we can deal with them," he said. The lights on the stage dimmed as a large projection screen rolled down. He folded his arms and smirked. He could hear whispers amongst the crowd as they set it up and could hear his own name tossed out quite a bit. Homika leaned in. "I didn't know Ethan was such a popular name around here."

"Are you kidding?" Lyra said. They looked over at her. "He's a cute guy but he's a royal pest. He's defeated almost all of the major Team Rocket bosses and helped foil several of our big plans including the plan to control Pokemon using the Radio Tower in Goldenrod. It's almost crazy how one guy can do so much damage."

"Oh wow, I didn't know he was that bad."

She nodded and let out a sigh. "It's too bad, he would make a great addition to Team Rocket."

Just the thought of it made him want to gag. Homika laughed. "If you could get him to join, that would be quite the coup."

"Of course! I got a plan, you watch me!"

"Again and again you keep talking about this grand plan to turn one of Team Rocket's greatest enemies into an ally. And that's all it ends up being, talk. I haven't seen you try to put it into play at anytime, you just keep talking about it," Carr said. Lyra gave him a mischievous look.

"That's because it's a complicated plan. I've almost have the finishing touches on it. Just you watch."

Even though she was talking about her plan to turn him evil, to his own face in fact, it still made him a bit wary. What had her so confidant that she would turn him into a member of Team Rocket? For they're multiple failures, Team Rocket was imaginative. He was often shocked at just how many plans their leaders could come up with and how fortunate they had been to stop them.

After Giovanni finished his speech, he stood in front of the stage where each and every Team Rocket member got to walk up to him and shake his hand. Most of the members were able to compose themselves before the crime lord but a few got emotional, even tearing up at the very thought of being in the same room as him. It all made him feel like gagging but he didn't dare do that here. As of now, he was a bit worried when he'd meet Giovanni. Would he be able to recognize him under the mask or would he just see him as another random member? It made him appreciate the fact they had to wear the masks. Otherwise he would have been found out in an instant.

"Hey, why is Giovanni having some people taking off their masks? We're never supposed to remove them?"

"I think he wants it to be personal. I mean if he's willing to see our real faces that must mean he really believes in us. I haven't even met him but I already know I'd die for the guy!"

"And now we have the crazies. How much longer do we have to be here?" Homika whispered.

"Hopefully once we're done with this meet and greet here. I don't think we're going to find out much here…I wish I had a ghost Pokemon with us. It would've been able to cloak us so we could sneak around."

"We need a distraction."

Tell him about it. He was going to need a distraction soon; he couldn't have Giovanni see him without his mask on. Yet he was only five people behind and nothing was coming up. Hopefully he'd be one of the people Giovanni didn't ask to see with their mask on but he doubted it.

Suddenly an alarm began to go off and everyone begun looking around, hoping to see what was the cause of the alarm. A couple of Team Rocket members ran into the hall, waving their arms. "Giovanni sir, we believe there are a couple of intruders in the base!"

Giovanni grumbled and folded his arms. "And what makes you say that?"

"We discovered a couple of people tied in the jungle near the guard shack. They identified themselves as members of Team Rocket and said a couple of people had attacked them and knocked them out, stealing their uniforms in the process!"

Ethan and Homika shared a look. "I see. Did you check with the guards at the guard shack?"

"They check out fine as well but they did identify the two who they took over for, a teenage boy with short black hair and a girl with white hair. They said she kind of resembled Homika, the famous rock and roll star."

So much for getting out quietly. He grabbed the Pokeball holding Wiggler just as he noticed some people looking at them. "Hey, doesn't she look like—"

"Shut up you stupid goobers!" Homika yelled. She tossed a Pokeball forward, summoning Weezing to the fight. Ethan flicked his upward, causing Wiggler to appear. He let out an angry squeak at him and Ethan rolled his eyes.

"Sorry about that Wiggler but I couldn't have you outside the ball."

"Well well, if it isn't Ethan himself. The first member who can stop them will be rewarded handsomely!"

Wiggler took in a deep breath and let out an awful sounding song from his lungs. The kind of song that would break glass, make babies cry and cause plants to die. Many of the Team Rocket members around them fell to the ground as they covered their ears. Wiggler looked back at him and let out a squeak. "Run away, okay. Wait, did you just say to run away?" Ethan asked, unsure he heard his pal just right.

"He's crazy, he thinks he can hold off all these clowns? Come on, let's go! I've been itching for a fight for awhile!"

Wiggler let out another squeak, urging to get out. "Are you sure you'll be alright Wiggler?"

"You're not thinking of running away, are you?"

Wiggler let out another squeak and Ethan grumbled. "Oh, fine! We'll get out of here but you better come back! Don't get yourself captured."

"Wait, what? You're just gonna run away?"

"Yes, let's go."

"What? Are you nuts?" She asked before Wiggler unleashed another earth shattering song. He ignored her protests and dragged her out.

By the time they stopped running, they were quite a ways from the base. In fact they looked to be on the edges of the jungle as he could see a city skyline off in the distance. "Huh…what city is that?"

Homika kicked him in the shin and he winced in pain. "You idiot! Why did we have to run away? We could have stayed back and fought them! And you even left your only good remaining Pokemon behind!"

He leaned against a tree and folded his arms, ignoring her for a bit. That must have not sat well with her because she walked over to him and got into his face. "Hey, didn't you hear me? Why did we just—"

He looked up at her with a look that would kill and she jumped back in surprise. He really felt like yelling at her but he forced himself to not act out and keep his cool. "I didn't want to leave. I would never want to abandon my best pal like that but think about it. I don't have my other Pokemon with me and we were outnumbered big time."

"Yes but—"

"You have nothing but Poison Pokemon and I'm sure I don't need to remind you that a lot of Team Rocket uses those same kind of Pokemon. And then there's Giovanni, do you even know what kind of Pokemon he uses?"

She shrugged. "Not really. He probably—"

"He uses Rock and Ground Pokemon. The kind that would destroy your team with ease. Hee used to be a Pokemon gym leader you know?"

Her mouth fell open. "He…what?"

"Yea, he used to be the leader of the Viridian gym. I never got to face him in a gym battle but he was. So he knows how to fight, especially against a type weak to his."

"I..I think I still would have—"

"So our options were to get captured or escape while he held them off."

She frowned. "How could you just leave him—"

"I didn't want to leave him. I'm trying not to go back for him right now but it was better that some of us got away then all of us get captured. And there's no telling what they do to us. Remember my reputation with them?"

Homika turned away. "So now you're down to just the two Pokemon you caught recently."

"This is gonna be even tougher than I thought."

She laughed. "Stop acting like that! No self respecting boyfriend of mine is gonna grovel like that!"

"I'm not your—"

"You were able to assemble a team of Pokemon that almost got you the Championship right? You can do it again! There are plenty of Pokemon that will fit your unorthodox strategy."

"You think so?"

She shot a glare at him. "I'm from Unova, I think I know a little bit about the Pokemon here."

"We still have Team Rocket to worry about though."

She laughed. "Of course you goofball! We can still investigate them. We'll just find you a new team while we're doing that."

He nodded. "Yea, I guess that works. You know, I think we could use a little more help. Why not alerting the gym leaders of Unova about Team Rocket?"

She rolled her eyes. "Get those slackers involved? I hope you're joking."

"We're gonna need the help. Unless you think we can just walk back to the base and still find them there. They know that we know about the base so Giovanni is gonna relocate it elsewhere."

"I don't know…"

"If you don't contact them, I will."

"Okay, okay! I'll get in contact with them but…you're gonna owe me for this!" She said as she pointed a finger in his face.

"Owe you? Oh, whatever."

She turned toward the city. "Lucky for you, we're just by my city, where my gym is located. We can contact the Unova gym leaders and I can also get in touch with my manager. They haven't heard from me in days and we probably need to start scheduling my next concert."

"You're next concert?"

"Of course! I can't just ignore my musical career you know! I've got goobers all over the world who would kiss the ground I walk on! Besides, I'm a music artist. I can't be away from my guitar for too long or I start to get in a bad mood!"

"Huh?"

She rubbed her arm. "I'm not a star just because I want to be. I really like being out there, playing the guitar and showing off. It makes me feel good, it feels me with a sense of power."

"It does all that?"

"Yes. I've been playing the guitar since I was a little girl, it's been my life. I mean sure I'm a gym leader but I've always seen myself as a guitar player first and foremost."

He folded his arms. "So then why do you act out like that on stage?"

"What do you think? If I was just playing the guitar up there, do you think I'd be as popular?"

He would have to think about that one. She took in his silence and nodded. "You see? No one would care about me otherwise. I'd just be a guitar playing girl who was also a gym leader."

"You sound kind of sad about that. Do you need all the attention from those people?"

She let out a sigh. "Because…I never got that kind of attention when I was young."

"You didn't have any friends?"

"No…I think people just didn't like me because I was so obsessed with being a guitar player. Who wants to hang out with a girl who does nothing but play the guitar?"

"It doesn't seem that crazy—"

"You're just being nice."

He laughed. "I'm used to people being really driven and ambitious. Crystal, the Champion of the Johto and Kanto leagues was my childhood friend and she was obsessed with becoming the best trainer possible. She kind of got me interested in Pokemon because before that, I was just…doing nothing really. Seeing her drive got me interested in it so…"

"Then well, the people around me were jerks. I never got any kind of attention like that, only jeers."

"So you're afraid if you just try and be yourself, no one will pay attention to you?"

She laughed. "Be myself? Ha, I don't even know how to do that. I can only act like the mega rock idol, Homika!"

He shook his head. "That's pretty sad. I'm sure me and the others would love to be your friend if—"

"Others?"

"My other friends. I'm sure they would accept you—"

She laughed and waved him off. "I'd prefer we keep this just between you and me. I don't need a bunch of people trying to be in my business."

"Well okay," he said. He leaned against the tree again and his thoughts began to drift toward Jasmine. He had last left her battling Team Rocket back at the concert and that was the last he had seen or heard from her. Made it worse by the fact that his cell phone was in that backpack too, ensuring he had now way of contacting her out here. "If she had been captured, I'm sure Giovanni would have taunted me about that but he didn't so that means she's safe…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

"Then stop wasting time, we need to contact those jokers called the Unova gym leaders! Then it'll be time for a concert! And it's gonna be big! Really big! And if they try and crash it, we'll be ready for them!"

"Can we at least get out of these uniforms before we go into town? We're gonna get some funny looks otherwise."


	3. Chapter 3

Homika's gym was located on the edges of a city called Tachikawi City. The layout of the city reminded him a bit of Goldenrod, although it was nowhere near as big as Goldenrod and the city was in a more tropical area. Her gym resembled a recording studio on the outside and a concert hall in the inside. While she got in contact with the gym leaders of Unova, he did his part to get in contact with Jasmine. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get in contact with her.

He hung up the phone after his last dial and let out a sigh. Pitch let out a chirp as he let out a sigh and he smiled. "Yea…I wish I could get in contact with her. I guess I could try Erica."

He picked up the phone again and dialed her number. He only had to wait a few rings before she answered. "Hello, this is Erica."

"Oh hey Erica, this is Ethan!"

"Ethan? Well this is a surprise, how are you? What happened to you? Last I heard, you vanished from a concert with Homika because Team Rocket crashed the party."

"Oh it's a long story, a real long one but it seems Team Rocket is up to no good, again. We've been trying to find out what they're up to but no luck so far."

"I see. That's unfortunate to hear, I wonder when they'll just give it up. You'd think after all these repeated failures, they'd do something else with their time."

"What's worse is that Giovanni is back."

Erica didn't answer for a minute. "Didn't you say he jumped into the ocean after you beat him?"

He gave a nervous laugh. "Well I saw him walk out and I heard a splash but I didn't get to see if he actually jumped in or not. I just figured he did. I guess he didn't if he's back in charge."

"That would certainly embolden them, having their leader back again."

"Yea and it looks like they're trying to create the ultimate Pokemon, just like how those scientists tried to do with Mewtwo those years back."

She sighed. "That's not good. We don't need another mad Pokemon raging about."

"Have you heard from Jasmine? I haven't seen her since we got separated back at the concert and I was worried about her. I tried calling her but—"

"She has reached me and was in the same boat. She lost her phone in that fight with Team Rocket so that's why you haven't been able to get in contact with her."

He let out a sigh of relief and Pitch chirped. "That's a relief. I'm just glad she's okay."

"Did I just hear a chirp?"

"Oh yea, that's Pitch, my new Pokemon. So what is she up to?"

"She told me that she's been investigating Team Rocket as well. She asked me to relay you some of the info she skimmed with the help of a guy named Ryan Hoshi. From what she said, Team Rocket has been trying to create a Pokemon with three types, Water, Dragon and Steel. They believe it would be the strongest Pokemon possible."

"That would be a pretty formidable Pokemon."

"Yes. She also explained that they had a plan in place that would distract all the Unova gym leaders so they could continue their work in peace."

He raised an eyebrow. "A plan? What kind of plan?"

Erica sighed. "She didn't say. I think they are still trying to figure that one out."

He rubbed his chin. "Well it would be a smart plan. We were planning to get in contact with the Unova gym leaders and have them keep an eye out for Team Rocket but I guess Giovanni planned for that."

"We?"

He laughed. "Oh, Homika and me."

Erica didn't say anything for another minute and that made him a bit nervous. "You know, I heard a rumor that you were involved with that mega rock star."

Pitch let out a chirp of surprise. How did he know? "Ugh, let's hope it stays that way. It isn't true."

"Heh, I thought so but still you should be careful."

"Careful? She's not dangerous or anyt—"

Erica sighed. "I mean how you act."

"I don't understand."

She let out another sigh. "I mean…try not to be so nice or else the rumor might turn into fact."

"What? I mean, I can't be mean to her."

"You have a way of charming girls, even though you aren't trying to."

"Well okay but I'm not sure how I will do that."

Erica chuckled. "You could just say you have a girlfriend already."

"But I'm not sure if Jasmine likes me like—"

"Oh you two are hopeless! Whenever I can, I'm going to sit you two down and explain it in detail!"

"Yo Ethan, are you done yet? We got business to talk about!" Homika asked. He looked over and held up a finger.

"Looks like I got to go Erica but send my regards to Jasmine—"

"Should I tell her you send your love?"

He hung up the phone, pretty much slamming it down. He heard Homika chuckle. "Ha-ha, why are you so red in the face?"

He looked down at the ground. "Its just Erica being Erica."

"Whatever that means."

He looked over at her after he regained his composure. "So what's up? Did you get in contact with the gym leaders."?

She winked. "Of course! I explained the situation to them and they all said they'd be looking out for Team Rocket. That's good because I don't think we have the strength to scour this entire region for those clowns! I think I would have lost all my energy if we did that."

"Great, hopefully with them helping, Team Rocket won't be able to so much as sneeze without us catching them," he said, pumping his fist.

"Those guys seem so slippery that they'll probably still be able to do things if they want. We can't let them get comfortable for a minute!"

"So what else did you want to tell me."?

She slammed her fist on the table. "It's time for a concert! It's been a while since I've had one and I can't keep the people waiting!"

"I thought it's only been a few days though."

"Whatever! We're gonna have it tomorrow, that's when it was originally planned so everyone will be stoked that it's still on."

He and Pitch shared a look. "But what about Team Rocket?"

She held up a Pokeball with a mischievous look on her face. "Remember that we still have that Pokemon that I stole from them awhile back. You don't think they'd be interested in getting it back?"

"You think they'd crash your concert again? They had the element of surprise before but I don't think that would work a second time."

She set the ball down and paced around. "Of course but they wouldn't be stupid enough to try the same stunt again. I still think they'd come after it though but instead of crashing the party with a bunch of members, they'll just send a few who will try and sneak in and grab it. And we'll be ready for them this time."

"So you think we can capture them and learn more about their plans."

"That's exactly what I'm thinking! I don't really expect them to send just anyone so there's a good chance we could get some real dirt."

He smiled. "Well that sounds like a good plan. Hopefully they will come out to the concert. What do you want Pitch and me to do? Hang out in the crowd and scan it for them? Or maybe hang out back?"

"Actually I got some people to hang out back and check for them. And I also got some people who will keep an eye on the crowd. No, you're gonna be on stage with me!"

Pitch let out a loud chirp and his jaw fell open. "But-but I can't play an instrument. And you really don't want to hear me sing either."

She shrugged. "I'm not planning to have you sing or play an instrument. You'll just be up there for support."

"Support? I don't know how I'll do that but okay. Do I just hang out back?"

She smirked. "You get to introduce me! And then you can like hang out on the back of the stage and pretend you're playing a guitar. I'll give you one."

He laughed. "Well, I'll do my best to pretend like I'm rocking out on the guitar."

"Of course you can! I think every guy has tried to pretend like they're a rock star, strumming the guitar and singing their heart out to all of those screaming fans. Except unlike those poor saps who dream about it, you get to experience it!"

Last time he had been before this many people was at the Pokemon League Championships but as he peeked through the curtain, there had to be at least double the amount of people than were at the League Championships. Pitch let out a worried chirp and he shook his head. "Th-that is a lot of people out there. How did so many show up for a concert that was just confirmed—"

"Are you worried?" Homika said. He looked back at her.

"Nervous. I haven't been up in front of so many people before."

"Hah, you were just like me when I was about to do my first concert! Just take a deep breath and be yourself!"

"That's it?"

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Yep, that's it. Now go out there and give it your all!"

He took the mic and walked out onto the stage, to the screaming cheers of the people out in the stands. As he began to speak, everyone around him began to chant in unision for her. It looked like everyone had one of those glowsticks in their hand, swinging in a giant chop motion. He smiled and put the mic to his mouth. "Yo Tachikawi City, how are you? Are you ready to rock?"

The fans screamed out in agreement but it didn't seem loud enough. "Oh come on now! I couldn't even hear you? Are you ready to rock?"

That was enough because the fans responded with such a thunderous cheer that it shook the stage, causing him to stumble. He steadied himself as the thunderous cheer continued for several minutes. Wow, were they looking forward to this. "Now that's more like! Welcome Tachikawi City, to the next stop in the Extra Toxic Tour. We're here to show that Team Rocket can't keep a good rock star down, are you with me!"

"Yea!" The crowd yelled but not as loud. They were obviously playing along this time.

"I can't hear you…are you with me?"

This time they responded with another thunderous cheer that rocked the stage. People began to jump up and down, overwhelmed with euphoria. She had decided against an opening act and it seemed that had been the right decision. "Then Tachikawi City, I'm proud to present to you, the Mistress of the Guitar, the Toxic Princess and the Queen of Rock herself, Homika!"

He stepped aside as Homika strode forward. Now the real concert could begin. As she walked by him, she gave him a quick wink before addressing the fans.

The concert was a huge success. Homika seemed less concerned about strange antics and just playing her heart out on the guitar. The crowd didn't seem bothered at all by this, cheering louder than he had ever heard a crowd before. Team Rocket didn't even bother to show but somehow he was a bit happy they didn't because he was already a bit sick of seeing them. After she came out for an encore after the last song, she suddenly turned and found him in the back of the stage, dragging him away from his hiding spot and out to the front of the stage with her. He was a bit worried of the response but instead the crowd let out a thunderous cheer as she grabbed his hand and raised it into the air.

"Haha, that was the most fun I've had in…months!" She said as she stood in front of the fan in her trailer. She grabbed a glass of ice water and dumped in on her face. "Did you hear that crowd?"

He smacked his ear. "My ears are still ringing."

"Good, they should be! That was the most electric crowd I've seen in like…ever! I'm glad Team Rocket didn't show, if they had interrupted that, I would've had to kill them with my guitar!"

He nodded. "I gotta admit, I'm kind of glad they didn't show this time around either. They're probably too busy finding another hiding place."

She waved him off. "Bah, who cares about them? We'll find those rats again."

He could hear the fans cheering outside and he sighed. "Are you gonna go out there?"

"Ahhh, I guess I can give them a little wave and send them off for the night," she said. She got up and stepped outside. The cheers grew louder in an instant as she spoke to them for a few. She returned a minute later and lay back down in front of the fan. "Haha, those goobers are something else."

"No after party?"

She looked at him and laughed. "Ha, no way! I'm bushed! I don't feel like partying, drinking or any of that. I just want to rest."

He whistled. "It's too hot in here. I'm gonna step outside."

"Too hot? You weren't even performing out there!"

"I know but I come from a region that isn't as warm. You got to bear with me."

She looked at him and smirked. "Alright but don't go to any crazy parties. If anyone gets any funny ideas, they get whacked with my guitar!"

By the time he left the trailer, the crowds had disappeared. He walked by one of the Machamp bodyguards and one of them handed him a Pokeball. "Huh, for me?"

It nodded at him and he took it. "Strange, I wonder who would give me this."

Pitch chirped and he laughed. "I don't think Team Rocket would have done it…I hope. I guess we should be careful anyway."

As he walked out to the stage, he tossed the Pokeball a few feet in front of him, just to be safe. Inside the Pokeball was a familiar face. "Whoa Rai! I didn't expect to see you again so soon!"

The Raichu scrambled over toward him before suddenly stopping short as a pained expression grew on its face. Once again, he had stored just a little too much electricity and had to let it out somehow. He and Pitch dove out of the way as Rai let forth with a powerful bolt of lightning that lit up the entire stage. "Hey, what are you trying to do?" Homika yelled. Ethan turned to see her standing behind him, arms on her hips.

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Don't mind Rai. He often stores electricity in his body like many other Raichu but he can store just a bit more than usual. And sometimes it causes him pain and he has to release it somehow. Sometimes you just have to get out of the way when he gets released."

"Is this one of those crazy strategies you use in battles?"

He laughed. "You know? I have! Right Rai?"

Rai looked at him and let out a squeak. She sat down on the stage next to him. "I've won several Gym battles by just unleashing him at the right time. He took out several Pokemon all by himself thanks to all the electricity he had stored up."

"Y-y-you're kidding, right?"

Rai let out another pleased squeak. "No. He defeated Faulkner, Louri and several other gym leaders just by hopping out of his ball and unleashing all that stored up electricity. Usually I'd have another Pokemon out like Wiggler to keep them distracted and then I'd let him out."

She shook her head. "That's pretty wild now that I think about it."

Rai let out a squeak and darted off toward the back of the stage. He watched him go and frowned. "Huh, he said he sensed something back there."

"You think it's Team Rocket? Haha, perhaps they did try to show up!"

He got to his feet and followed after the chubby mouse. "I don't think it's a person. When he acts like that, it's usually another electric Pokemon. One that's giving off a strong charge."

Homika grumbled. "Another electric Pokemon? Then what could it be?"

Rai disappeared behind one of the speakers. He stopped a few feet in front as he could hear Rai searching around for whatever he had detected. Homika bent over and gasped for air. "This better be good. And if it turns out to be a—spider!" She yelled in shock as Rai came out with a yellow mite like Pokemon on its head. Ethan bent down to get a closer look at it since it was pretty small. It had thick yellow fur and two beady blue eyes and two smaller ones above them, along with four blue tipped feet. Pitch let out a chirp and the little mite shook itself. "Wow, it looks kind of cool—"

"Cool? Cool? You call that thing cool? It's a freakin' spider!"

"Looks like a mite to me. Spiders have—"

"Let's not get into a freaking biology debate here! And it's going to evolve into an even bigger spider!"

He, Pitch and Rai all shared a look. "So what is it called?"

"Joltik."

He nodded and began to reach out toward it, then thought better of it. "So then why do you think it was back there?"

"They like to absorb static electricity from other creatures. I'm guessing it figured the equipment was a nice alternative. I can't believe I was on stage while this thing was—"

"I'd like to keep him. Do you have an extra Pokeball?"

"No. And even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you. Besides, you have an electric Pokemon right there, why do you need another one?"

He sighed. "I was just thinking…that my team has been through a lot, battles with Team Rocket and all those gym battles and tournaments…that they would like it if they didn't have to do that anymore."

Her mouth fell open. "You're thinking of training a new team entirely?"

He nodded. "Yea, I think it would be kind of cool. I have Pitch and now this little guy, though he's gonna need a name."

"I'm going back to my trailer and if you bring that with you, don't even think about staying in the trailer!"

When did he agree to stay in the trailer? "So since I'm guessing we have time before you next concert, perhaps we should go back to that base and see if they left anything."

"We'll be lucky to find a thing but I guess we can check it out."

By the time they got out to where the base was the next day, the area was pretty empty. Homika laughed. "Look at all these tire tracks, they got hella out of dodge! They weren't gonna stick around once they knew we had discovered its location!"

He folded his arms. "Yea but how did they move all of that out without anyone noticing? There's got to be a secret road or something."

He glanced at Pitch. "Hey Pitch, see if you can see anything interesting," he said. The little bird chirped and took to the skies. Homika sighed.

"This is a waste of time. What are we gonna find out here?"

He frowned and then took out the Pokeball holding Joltik. "I think I'll call him…Bolt," he said as he summoned the little mite. It crawled along the ground before jumping up in the air a bit. "Huh, did you find something?"

The mite began to scurry along a somewhat straight path for several meters before it came to a stop at the edge of the clearing and where the jungle sprang up. He rubbed his chin. "I wonder what it means?"

"Perhaps that's where the trucks were headed."

"A secret road then!"

Homika sighed. "Where?"

He bent down to the ground. "Perhaps it's an underground road. Maybe there's a door that opens up to a ramp that leads into it. And then the road leads somewhere far away where they can get out undetected."

"That sounds like something out of a spy movie or—"

"It's worth checking out, right?" He asked. He began to claw at the dirt with his bare hands. Times like this is when he wished he had Crunk around but he'd have to make do. The little mite noticed and joined in, even though it could barely make any progress compared to him.

"Ethan…Ethan stop. Let's go back and maybe find a shovel or—"

"Hey, I think I feel something!" He said. He dug his fingers into the cool dirt and could feel something metal. He pressed down on it and noticed how strong it seemed. "I can feel something metal down here and it's pretty strong."

"What?"

"I bet it's a door of sorts! If it's underneath all this dirt, it'd have to be, especially if you don't want anyone to notice it."

He looked up at her with a pleased look on his face and she shook her head. "Okay so it looks like there was something. You surprise me sometimes."

"Yea well, we still need to uncover the rest of it. We can't sit here all day with me digging with my bare hands."

"I'll take care of that," she said. She took out her phone. "Hey, I need you guys out here! We're at an abandoned base in the jungle to the north of the city and we need some help digging! Yes I said digging! I'm not going to waste my time here doing that, that's why I got you guys around, to do the dirty work! No whining either, it will probably be a quick and easy job," she said before hanging up.

"Thanks Homika. With some more people helping, we can uncover what this is in a jiffy," he said as he went back to digging. She grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him away.

"Stop it. My guys can take care of that. I'm not going to let you get yourself hurt trying to dig a stupid hole."

He laughed. "You don't have to worry about me. I've been through a lot!"

"I never said I was worried about you."

Pitch returned from his patrol. "So did you see anything Pitch?"

The little bird chirped his report and Ethan let out a sigh. "Drat, so no sign of Wiggler? I hope the guy is all right."

He let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. "Hey…uh…didn't you finish pretty far in the Pokemon League with him? If you can get that far with something like him, I think he could take care of himself."

"Huh, yea I guess you're right. He can handle himself pretty well. It just sucks not having him around. He was the only Pokemon I had around for awhile. It just doesn't feel right without him around," he said. He laughed. "This probably sounds kind of pat—"

"Shut up you idiot! You must think I'm some cold and heartless b**ch, don't you!"

He, Pitch and Bolt shared a look. "Well—"

"Well I am. You don't get to become the queen of the rock and roll world by being all nice and cuddly."

"You don't?"

She shook her fist. "Of course not! Rock n' roll isn't about cute puppy dogs and rainbows! It's about anger, rage, bile and hate! The world hates so you give the world the finger and you turn you back on in. It's about telling it to the man, telling the police they got no control over you and showing up all the haters!"

He got to his feet. "So…if you're happy and content with life, you can't be a rock star?"

"Well…I guess? I don't know. I think I'm losing my edge and it's because of you!"

"Me? What did I do? You don't want to work with me anymore or something?"

She grumbled. "It's not that! Oh just forget about it!"

Once her guys showed up, they made short work of the area, uncovering a large metal door, about the size of four garage doors, or at least large enough for a semi to get through. Getting it to open proved to be a bit more of a challenge. Even with all of them together, they couldn't budge it one bit. "It's gotta be controlled electronically," Ethan said.

Homika grumbled. "That's all well and good but where is the device that would control it? It's gotta be around here."

He shook his head. "Maybe or maybe not."

She shot a glare at him and he gave her a nervous smile. "Well like I've said, I've tangled with them in the past and for something this important, the controls wouldn't be anywhere close by. I think they have them far away. Or perhaps it can be controlled remotely."

"So then what?"

"We just see if we can fry the system."

"Come again?"

He took out the Pokeball holding Rai. As soon as he summoned the Raichu, it unleashed a bolt of electricity that hit the steel door. It didn't do the trick but he expected that. "Okay Rai, I'm gonna need you to zap this—"

"What?"

He looked over at her. "Well I was thinking that if it was controlled remotely, there's probably a little computer attached to the motor that opens it. Maybe if we fry it, it'll malfunction and open."

"I…well I guess that could work."

He nodded and looked over at Rai. He explained the situation to him and soon the Raichu was running toward the large metal door. It let out a cry as it began to charge up. Ethan began to back away and Homika gave him a curious look. "Well sometimes he can be a little out of control when he unleashes his Thunder attack so it's best to give him some space."

"I take it you've learned this the hard way?"

He laughed. "Well…I haven't but Wiggler did. He was not happy about it, let me tell you!"

Soon you couldn't even see Rai anymore, just a large ball of yellow energy with lightning sparking all about. With one final cry, he unleashed a massive bolt of electricity on the door, enveloping it all. For a moment or two after the attack subsided, nothing happened but then they heard a loud groaning sound. The ground shook a bit as the large metal door slid open, revealing a ramp leading into a large underground road. "So that's how they were able to escape without detection. Those sneaky—"

"Thanks a lot Rai, you were a great help!"

"So what do you want us to do boss? Should we—"

She waved them off. "Just go back to the studio. Remember in a few days, we got another concert to prepare for! We'll just check this tunnel out and see where it leads."

Ethan's eyes grew wide. "Huh, that's a pretty big tunnel. You think we can cover it?"

"Do I look like some sort of weakling to you?" She yelled, cursing in his face. He backed away, holding his hands in front of him.

"I mean you did just take part in an awesome concert last night so I was thinking—"

She grabbed him by the collar. "Don't you dare pity me."

Guided by the large lights that lined each side of the road, they made their way through the large underground road. The air still smelled like exhaust, a good sign that it had been used recently. The further in they went, the staler the air got but at least it was nice and cool inside. "We could be walking for a long time."

"So what? Exercise is good for you."

"What? I'm in pretty good shape! I bike and skateboard all the time. I rarely use a Pokemon to fly around."

She folded her arms. "Why not? It's just gonna take you forever to get from place to place. You'll never get anything done! That seems pretty stupid to me."

He shrugged as he watched Pitch fly a few feet in front of them. "Well yea but that's the fun of it. If I have to be somewhere in a hurry, then I'll use a flyer but for me, it's more about getting out there and seeing the world, meeting new trainers and running into Pokemon along the way. If you just use a Pokemon to fly around all the time, all I get to see is the clouds and that's pretty boring if you ask me!"

"I guess," she said, looking a bit distant.

"What is it?"

"Well, I was just thinking of how it'd be to do that. I'm usually too busy in the studio or battling people at my gym to go out and smell the freaking roses."

"That's kinda sad. I would go mad if I had to be stuck inside all day."

"Yea well, I'm the Queen of Rock n' Roll. I don't have time to walk around and interact with those rabid goobers!"

He shrugged. "I guess but don't you ever get tired of it and just want to get outside and—"

"Even if I did, how can I? I got responsibilities to take care of."

He smiled. "I guess you're right. I don't think I could handle it honestly. Guess I'm glad I don't have to worry about stuff like that."

An hour passed and it seemed like the road would go on forever. He folded his arms as Pitch returned to him after flying ahead. He chirped a response and Ethan frowned. "Man, how long does this road go? I'm not sure I want to see where it leads today. We know this is what they used, maybe we should just let the authorities know about it and let them handle it. What do you think Homika?"

She didn't answer him and he looked around for her before noticing she was lagging several feet behind him. Pitch landed on his shoulder and chirped a response. He shot a glare at the little bird. "You're about as bad as Wiggler sometimes," he said. "Homika, you okay?"

"Would you stop running so much?"

"Running? I've just been walking."

"Well you walk too darn fast."

"If you need to rest, we can stop. I'm getting a bit tired of this tunnel, seems like it goes on for quite awhile."

She caught up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I told you not to pity me you—"

"You look exhausted. You think I'm gonna be responsible for the queen of rock n' roll to work herself into exhaustion? Everyone would have my head!"

She glared at him. "So now you only care about the opinions of a bunch of goobers?"

He laughed at her. "I was kidding but I don't want you to exhaust yourself."

"Why are you so concerned about me?"

He laughed. "I'm always worried about my friends. Even if I know they can take care of themselves, I'll worry about them and do my part to make sure they're all right. Why else would I keep worrying about Wiggler?"

She blushed a bit and then looked away. "Who said we're friends? I'm just cooperating with you to get back at those stupid Team Rocket idiots who crashed my concert! Once we get back at them, we're done!"

Pitch let out a chirp and she looked at him. "What did that little twit say?"

Ethan tried to play dumb but the look she gave him caused him to reconsider. "He says you're a horrible liar."

He expected her to respond with some fire but she gave him a smug look on her face. "So I am. Fine, fine, I'll take a rest. This stupid tunnel is long."

"That's what I'm saying! I don't know if I want to even see where it leads."

"Well, we're here, why not see where it leads?"

"Because we could just leave this to the authorities. Isn't that why we contacted the other gym leaders?"

She pointed a finger at him. "Remember whose gym is close to this jungle."

"I see what you're saying but—"

"How touching, the cute little couple, slaving away in the underground tunnel, hot on the tails of that evil Team Rocket."

He looked up to see Lyra walking toward them, a big smile plastered on her face. Well she looked happy to see him at least. She looked over at Homika and stuck out her tongue. Homika jumped to her feet. "What are you doing here you stupid b—"

"How about you shut up and let me talk? Unless you want to be stuck walking around in this tunnel for another few days."

"It goes on that long?"

Lyra giggled. "Of course silly. I know because I traveled down it but that's besides the point."

"Then what is the point? Are you just trying to poke fun at us? We don't have time for this garbage!" Homika snapped. Lyra looked to be taken aback and shook her head.

"Temper temper, you need to calm down. Besides I didn't come to speak with you but to Ethan."

"Anything you have to say to him, you can say to me as well."

"Ummm, I don't think so."

Homika took a few steps toward Lyra before Ethan held her back. "What was that?"

"Homika."

"Listen to cutie over there. We aren't going to get anywhere if you refuse to act like a responsible adult."

Homika folded her arms. "So what is it?"

Lyra laughed. "I only want to talk with Ethan. If you agree, maybe I could tell you just where this road leads to but only if you listen to my request."

He and Homika looked at each other. She was probably lying through her teeth and only leading them to a trap but they had also been walking down the road for a long time and they could still be walking for a long time. Any idea where it'd end up would help quite a bit. Homika pulled him in closer to whisper into his ear. "Can we really trust this broad? I mean it seems like she's got some hidden agendas going on and I don't like it one bit."

"I see your point but we could also be wandering around in this road for a long while. If we had an idea where it ended up, it would help us with finding Team Rocket."

"I know but I really don't think we can trust her."

"Are you saying that because you really believe that or because you just hate her?"

"Well I do hate her but I don't think we can trust her at all."

He nodded. "Yea but our only other choice is to keep wandering down this road. And who knows how long that would take? I think we have to take our chances."

Homika rolled her eyes. "Yea, whatever but if this backfires on us, I'm bashing her head in with my guitar."

He laughed before walking over to Lyra. "Okay, I'll listen to what you have to say."

She hooked her arm under his. "Great, come on, let's talk!"

He couldn't see it but he could feel Homika staring daggers in their direction. For her sake, Lyra better not be lying because he feared what Homika would do otherwise.

They walked for a bit down the road until Lyra released his arm and looked at him. "This is far enough I think."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Lyra pursed her lips. "Well I had an offer for you to be exact."

He and Pitch shared a look. "What kind of offer?"

"Well, I know you aren't a big fan of Team Rocket and all…but what do you think about joining a team that opposes Team Rocket?"

"W-w-what? Are you some sort of mole in Team Rocket?"

She winked at him. "You could say that. I've been undercover, trying to discover what they're up to. It's kind of tough though since it seems only the top level people are in the know. That's why I could use your help?"

"My help?"

"Yea! You're a pretty competent trainer and you've dealt with them plenty times before. If there was anyone that could help us out, it would be you."

He frowned. "Yea, I see your point there. What is the name of this Team? Is it a gang like Team Rocket?"

"Hmm, I guess you could call it that but it's a good gang since we're out to stop Team Rocket!"

"Well it sounds cool and all but why just me? I know others who would be happy to join an organization who is trying to stop Team Rocket."

She smiled. "Oh, who do you have in mind? We're not interested in having any loose cannons, if you know what I mean."

Well that meant Homika was out. He really doubted she'd be okay with that though. Jasmine definitely didn't fit the definition of loose cannon though. "Well I do but she isn't the one person I was thinking of."

She smiled at him. "Then tell me more, I'd love to hear your input."

Before he could answer, he could hear a low rumble. Pitch let out a worried chirp and he looked around. "Hey, what's that sound?"

"That rumbling sound? I-I don't know. Perhaps Team Rocket had a trap…look out!" She yelled. She pulled him away as the roof of the tunnel began to cave in. She shoved him out of the way as dirt and large rocks rained down. He rolled forward as dust filled the tunnel, blotting out the lights as well.

By the time the cave in had stopped, he found himself looking at a huge wall of large rocks and dirt, blocking him from Homika. He looked around for Lyra but she was nowhere to be found either. "Lyra? Homika?"

Pitch let out a chirp and he sighed. "Yea, this is just peachy. I hope both of them are okay. Even if I'm still not sure we can trust Lyra or not."

He stared at the blocked tunnel again and put his hands on his hips. "So now what?"

"H-huh, Ethan? What are you doing down here?"

He shook his head, he had to be losing it. Now he was imagining Jasmine talking to him. Pitch let out a chirp, snapping him back to reality. "Huh, what? There is someone down here?"

He turned around to see a girl walking towards him, except it didn't look like Jasmine at all. She had darker brown hair, which she wore in two circular buns on the side of her head with two long ponytails hanging from each side. She had a red sportscap with a Pokeball symbol on the front, he really needed a hat like that. She wore a sporty outfit consisting of a white shirt with blue sleeves, a beige miniskirt and a pair of light blue tennis shoes and red socks. She carried a large bag on her shoulders with a few different colored Pokeballs poking out of the top, including what looked like a Masterball. So it wasn't Jasmine, what a drag. "Hi!"

"Oh hey, sorry I thought you were someone else."

She cocked her head to the side. "Huh, you don't recognize me?"

She walked a bit closer and he looked at her a bit more. She did look pretty familiar in the face but…"Well you look like a close friend of mine but…who are you?"

She smiled. "Maple!"

He nodded. "It's nice to meet you Mapl—hey, wait a minute. Jasmine's middle name is Maple—"

Before he could finish, she rushed forward and embraced him. Pitch let out a chirp. "Huh, but—"

"But you can still call me Jasmine."


	4. Chapter 4

"Toots, is this the guy you keep talking so highly about?" A guy asked. Jasmine released Ethan from her embrace and shook a fist at a blue haired guy who had appeared.

"Ryan, how many times have I told you? Stop calling me Toots!"

He laughed as he ran a comb through his wild looking blue hair. He waved at Ethan. "Yo, I'm Ryan Hoshi, or you can just—"

"Ryan, could you just leave us alone?"

He shrugged. "Sure, fine. I'll leave the two lovers alone."

She must have shot him a really dirty look because he turned and left in a hurry. When did she become so fiery? She looked back at him. "It's been too long. How are you?"

"Well…I'm fine but what's with this new look?"

She laughed. "Well, after you two left, I was overwhelmed by Team Rocket. I had the stronger team but they had the numbers. I was able to get away but I knew they were hot on my tail so I thought if I opted to go for a new look and a different personality, they would be thrown off my trail. It seemed to have worked because you hardly recognized me."

"You got that right. I thought I was going crazy for a moment, hearing your voice and then seeing someone completely different. So…how are you?"

"Oh I've been fine. Just hard at work trying to find out more about Team Rocket. It's not easy though, they're so sneaky."

He rubbed his head. "Yea I know what you mean. We haven't had much luck either. Some luck here and there but trying to catch them is like trying to grasp a Magikarp."

She raised an eyebrow. "That…actually makes a bit of sense."

He put his hands in his pockets and turned away. "I kind of feel a bit bad. It seems like you two have learned quite a few things about them."

"But we haven't learned much either! What have you learned?"

"Well…we know that they're trying to create the ultimate Pokemon—"

"Oh that again? I thought people would have learned from the Mewtwo experiment," she said, rolling her eyes while she was at it.

"Exactly, that's what I was saying but Homika said she found a Pokemon that had been forced to evolve again, into a totally new evolution. And it had three types."

"3 types?"

He nodded. "Yea and the thinking is that Giovanni would create a Pokemon with the strongest 3 types. Something powerful and strong, that could demolish any Pokemon that went up against it."

"There are some really powerful Pokemon out there though. It's just…ugh; it bugs me that they are up to this! Experimenting on Pokemon just to further their own twisted means!"

"We discovered their base in the jungle but had to leave before we could learn anymore. They packed up and left in this underground road."

She frowned. "So that is what it was for. We heard something about a bunch of trucks and stuff coming out of an unknown road so we decided to check it out—"

"Where did you guys come from?"

She pursed her lips. "It was near a city called Undella Town."

"Undella Town?"

"So where did you guys come from?"

"Near Tachikawi City."

Her eyes grew wide. "Wow, really? That's like, really, really far away. Hundreds of miles in fact."

"What? Then how long have you two been walking down this road?"

She shrugged. "We actually found a way in near Castelia City. It was pretty far underground and we only discovered it based off a rumor that had been floating about. Something about a tunnel being used by some criminals or something. Super vague but we thought it was worth looking into."

"Wow, you guys have been busy."

She winked at him. "Of course silly! I've been fed up with their actions before and now that I know what they're trying to do, I really want to take them down now. What's wrong, you look bothered."

He chuckled. "Well I just feel kind of bad. While you guys have been running around, doing everything you can while I haven't."

"I…am afraid to ask but just what is your relationship with that rock star?"

"Huh, you mean Homika? We were just pretending to be a couple. I forgot why we did it but that's the gist of it."

"Oh."

"You don't believe me?"

Before she could respond, they heard a rumbling sound coming from the wall of rocks and dirt that blocked the tunnel. It sounded like something was hitting the other side of the wall and hitting it with force. "Is that…is someone trying to get through?"

"Sounds like it to me but who is it?" Jasmine asked.

At the moment, he could think of only one person that determined enough to get through. Considering her temper, he wouldn't be shocked if she had done so by her bare hands. Pitch chirped. "Yea, I think I know."

Part of the wall gave way and they backed up as rocks and dirt fell forward. Through the wall, he could see what looked like a large purple fist, pounding away at the barrier that separated them and as it opened up further, he saw it was a large Muk, hard at work. Homika climbed up through the hold and slid down the pile of dirt. She dusted herself off before looking around. "Where is she?"

"Huh, who are you talking about?" Jasmine asked. Homika ignored her and looked straight at him. He held up his hands.

"Hey, I don't know. We were talking and then that cave in happened and she disappeared since then."

"How suspicious! Lure you away from me and then a mysterious cave in occurs and then she mysteriously disappears after that. You know what that means?"

"Well—"

"It means I'm gonna pulverize her once we find her again! I told you she was a lying, no good, dirty, rotten, foul, no good, smug, evil, sinister, no good…I said no good already, didn't I?"

He nodded and she shook her fist. She slammed it against the wall. "I told you not to trust her! She tried to get you killed!"

"I don't think she was behind it though. She was pretty surprised by it as well."

Homika laughed. "Ah ha, that's what she wants you to believe. She plays the sugar and spice routine, trying to lure you in and get you to believe what she's saying and then…BAM! I know how these type operate."

He laughed and noticed she had a pretty serious look on her face. "Well…"

"You have to be careful Ethan! You're just the kind of person that would fall for that kind of scheme."

"What kind of scheme? And what do you mean by what kind of person?"

She tapped her chin with a finger. "What I mean is that you're too nice! You believe everyone is a good person and can be easily fooled when someone tries to take advantage of that. That's why you need me around!" She said with a smug look on her face. She noticed Jasmine and frowned. "Who is this broad?"

"Broad?" Jasmine asked.

"Oh this is my friend, Jas—"

"Maple," she said. He looked at her confused and Homika shrugged.

"Friend, huh? So is that why you weren't trying to help break down the wall? Were you trying to ditch me or something?"

He shook his head. "Huh, no way! Why would I try ditching you? Besides, what Pokemon do I have that could break down that wall? Remember they were all stolen."

"Yea well—"

"And why should I have been worried about you? You're a gym leader, right? You know how to handle yourself and you have the Pokemon to back you up as well."

Her mouth fell open before she suddenly turned away from both of them. "Yea well…whatever!"

Jasmine laughed. "I'm…sorry for dragging him away from you. I was just telling him what we had learned about Team Rocket."

Wait, why was she apologizing? Homika spun around to look at her. "So what do you know? So you've been hot on their tails too? Glad to hear someone is doing something!"

"Well we know that they've got some sort of plan to keep the gym leaders and even the Pokemon League occupied so they can continue with their plan."

"I hate to admit it but they can be pretty devious and smart at times. And just after he convinced me to get them involved too!"

"And we heard about this tunnel in Castelia City but it actually ends near Undella Town."

Homika's eyes grew wide. "What? Undella Town? That's like hundreds of miles away! We would have been in there for weeks otherwise!" She said. She folded her arms. "All right Ethan, you were right. At least we know where it leads! We need to head there next!"

"We do?"

"Of course! They might have set up shop around there. It would certainly throw us off the trail, appearing hundreds of miles away in another town entirely. But since we know where this tunnel leads, we can get the drop on them!"

"Well, I can't argue with that. We still don't know if they're actually up there but it's worth a look."

"Exactly so what are we waiting for?"

He looked over at Jasmine, as if expecting her to speak up but she looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Well I just need to—"

"Huh…is there something between you two?"

"N-no, he's just a friend. Please keep him out of trouble, he has such a wonderful way of finding it."

"H-huh?" He asked. So now she didn't want to work together? He was about to suggest Ryan and Homika work together for a little while he and Jasmine catch up but now she didn't want to work together? What was going on?

"Huh, leave it to me. If he gets into any trouble, he's gonna feel my wrath!"

Homika sat atop a pile of rocks as he finished telling her about his talk with Lyra. She didn't speak up during any of it, only nodding or using some other gesture to show she wasn't falling asleep through it. Once he finished, she hopped down and slammed her fist against the wall. "She's lying!"

"I think we went over that."

"I know but I think she's still lying. Lying through her teeth."

He shrugged. "I guess. So on another note, how do we get out to Undella Town? You said it was hundreds of miles away, are we gonna need a flying Pokemon?"

She nodded. "Yea, we'll need a flier but my Crobat won't be able to take both of us. We'll need something a bit bigger."

"Well I'm new to Unova but you know any flying Pokemon that would be able to help us out? If this were back in Kanto or Johto, I would know where to go—"

"I can't think when you keep talking," she said.

"Oh, right."

She looked down at him with almost an apologetic look, even though it lasted for the blink of an eye. "Don't get all down. I just find it hard to think when people are talking. It's like they talk and I can hear their voices echoing in my head, ping ponging around, interrupting my thoughts. It makes me want to—"

"But I stopped talking…"

She stomped her foot and he jumped backwards. "Quiet you!" She yelled. She grabbed a rock and tossed it at him, missing with ease. He didn't even have to move to avoid it. She stood up and laughed. "Hah, why worry about getting a flying Pokemon? We'll just use my private plane!"

Pitch let out a chirp and he glanced over at him. "Wait, what was that Pitch?"

"Did that little squirt insult me or something?"

He shook his head. "No, nope! He didn't say anything insulting. I was just gonna ask, you have a private plane?"

She looked at him for a few minutes without saying anything. He wondered why she did it at first before it dawned on him what kind of question he had asked. "Uh, forget I asked that."

"So let's get out of this stupid tunnel and get back to town. We'll just get in my plane and we'll be there in no time! Team Rocket has to be pretty stupid if they think they can just get away like that!"

"I agree. We can't them get comfortable for one bit."

She smiled, puffing out her chest. "Good, glad we're on the same page! I just can't wait to find that Lyra. I'm gonna bash her skull into the ground!"

"I don't think you have to go that far…"

"Stop having sympathy for her."

"I'm not! I just don't think she's done anything to warrant death by getting her head smashed in with a guitar," he said, sharing a look with Pitch. He walked toward the hole in the wall. "Well, no use sticking around here then. We should get back to the city."

"Heh, it's a good think we'll be in Undella Town anyways. That's where my next concert is!"

"Really? You think there is a connection?"

"They're obviously trying to take back that Pokemon we stole. And what better way to get it than crashing my concerts. They're due to crash another one—"

"Or they could be big fans of your music."

"They wouldn't be able to tell what good music is if I slapped them across the forehead with one of my CD's. Besides, I would feel dirty knowing that those goons enjoy my music. It'd make me…want to write some different music, like crummy rap songs or super sappy romance songs."

He laughed at the thought of Homika trying to write a sappy romance song and notice her glare at him. "What? I just thought it would be funny to see you write a romance song."

She smirked. "You got that right! I'd die before I be caught writing one of them."

Undella Town was pretty much a summer resort town by the looks of it. Many of the buildings were summer villas, with a few hotels and restaurants lying about. The beach was stunning and wasn't even occupied by that many people. If it weren't for the fact that they had work to do, he would have loved to run down there and have some fun. She grabbed him by the sleeve. "What, you haven't seen a beach before?"

"Not one as pretty as this. Man, it's like one of those fancy pictures you see in the stores or in a book."

"Yea well this is the real thing. I hear some of the gym leaders like to vacation here from time to time so…no staring!"

He looked back at her. "Huh but why would I stare?"

Before she could respond, they heard a cheery sounding girl speak up. "Yo Homika girl, what are you doing way out here? Don't see you come out here very often!"

He began to turn around but Homika jabbed him in the side. So he decided against turning around. "Hi Skyla, we're just in town to do a little investigating."

"You mean about Team Rocket? Stellar, so was I! Although I haven't had much luck. Who is this with you?"

"Ethan, he's working with me—"

"Actually, she's working with me. We're trying to stop Team Rocket's scheme, whatever that is. Not having much luck but we're slowly learning bits about it," he said as he turned around, thinking how rude it was trying to talk to someone with your back turned to them. He was greeted by the site of a petite red head girl, dressed in nothing more than a sky blue bikini with more curves than…he mentally jabbed himself and smiled at her. "Nice to meet you…Skyla, is it?"

She smiled back and held out her hand. "Pleased to meet ya! I swear, I've seen you before…"

"He was with me on stage at my last concert," Homika said.

Skyla shook her head. "No, I mean before that—"

"Maybe you mean at the Pokemon League Championships for Kanto and Johto. I finished third behind the Champion Crystal and the runner up, Lance."

She snapped her fingers. "Yea, that's it! Wow, what brought you way out here to Unova? Kanto and Johto aren't exactly a hop, a skip and a surf away."

"Well—"

Homika cleared her throat. "He came out to see one of my concerts but that's beside the point. Have you heard anything about any trucks or abundance of them in the area?"

Skyla looked confused for a bit. "Trucks? Now that you mention it, I remember hearing some of the resort employees talking about it. Saying they thought they heard the sound of a bunch of trucks in the forests north of here. I didn't really think much about it since it seemed like one of those rumors."

"Well we think there is more to it than just rumors so we're gonna check it out."

Skyla looked toward the sky. "Well, you might want to hold your horses. Looks like a storm is coming in."

Homika laughed. "I'm not afraid of a little rain."

"Little rain? When it rains here, it pours. It's like a mega monsoon! If you get stuck out in it, you'll regret it. You better wait until it passes."

Homika grumbled to herself and he laughed. "That's okay. I don't really want to get caught in a monsoon either. If Team Rocket is out there, they'll probably still be there if we have to wait a few hours or so."

"Yea, just peachy. Well let's go then Ethan!" Homika said. She began to drag him away.

"Go? But the beach is pretty much empty! Why don't you two join me for a little surfing?"

A little beach action sounded like a welcome respite before they had to go back to hunting for Team Rocket again but Homika didn't sound near as interested. Too bad, he was really itching to go out there. "I haven't surfed before, how is it?"

"Oh it's awesome! It's rough at first but once you get out there and catch a great wave, it's the best feeling in the world! It's much better than trying to ride a Pokemon in the water, that's for sure!"

He looked at Homika, who still looked a bit annoyed but it seemed like her anger had subsided a tad. "I'm not much for swimming to be honest."

Skyla laughed. "There's a first for everything! Come on, trust me! You won't regret it, one bit!"

"I'll pass, you guys can have fun."

Pitch, who had been on his shoulder but had taken the skies, came flying back down, chirping up a storm. He looked up at the little bird and laughed. "Whoa whoa whoa Pitch! Could you slow down a bit and explain it to me further?"

Skyla laughed. "Oh is that your Rufflet? I was wondering whose little bird it was. Pitch is a cute little name for it!"

"Thanks," he said. Pitch chirped his response and Ethan nodded. "Pitch said he saw a ship with cargo stamped with the Team Rocket logo on it. It was headed toward a shoreline to the northeast of here."

Homika laughed. "How arrogant can they get? In broad daylight even! This is our chance!"

"I got a speedboat. We could use it to get over there in like a minute! Or two," Skyla said. "Come on, we can't let them get away!"

"But I wonder…you know how they said Team Rocket had a plan to distract the gym leaders and the Elite Four if need be? You think this could be part of it?" Homika asked. Ethan and Skyla shared a look.

"What makes you think that? We know that secret road leads out here and that people said they heard a bunch of trucks to the north of here. And now we have a ship with Team Rocket cargo on it. Seems pretty cut and dry if you ask me."

"Yea but they could also be doing this to distract us. Perhaps their actual location is further inland and they're just doing this to throw others off."

He rubbed his chin. "Yea, I could see them doing that too but—"

"We should split up. One of us checks out where that ship is headed and then the rest go off in a different direction."

"That makes sense but if we do that, we should still wait until after the storm passes."

They never really got the chance to go out to the beach as the storms rolled in a bit quicker than expected. They took shelter in a nearby hotel, where autograph seekers, much to her dismay, hounded Homika. He sat in the corner of the lobby, sipping lemonade with Skyla while watching. Skyla downed her cocktail in one gulp and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Whoo, I think I'm ready to go back out there!"

He looked over at the several tall glasses she had down already. "D-d-don't you think that's enough?"

She shook her head as she motioned to a waiter for another. "Nope. Besides, it takes quite a few to get me even a little buzzed. Want to try one?"

He shook his head. "No, I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself. So tell me, do the two of you get along pretty well?"

He looked over at Homika. "We do. She can be a bit difficult at times to get along with—"

"That's just her though. I don't think she'll just be a friend with anybody. She doesn't seem like a very sociable person, even though she is a mega popular rock star."

He leaned back in his chair and let out a happy sigh. "I couldn't do that, dealing with all that media, all the attention of the fans and stuff! I wouldn't be able to just go out and walk one of the routes with my Pokemon, just enjoying being out there and meeting new trainers or seeing new Pokemon."

She laughed. "Ha, don't we all! I have that experience when I'm out flying by myself. Just me, the plane, the clouds and the Pokemon around me. I just don't get to meet any trainers up there! Well unless they're riding one of their Pokemon."

A loud thunderbolt sounded off in the near distance and Pitch let out a terrified chirp before diving underneath his chair. He reached down to pet the bird and Skyla laughed again. "Sorry about that Pitch."

"You have a kind heart, just the kind of person for her."

"Huh?"

Skyla tapped her chin. "Homika seems like a pretty lonely person, even with all that fame and talent. And she's a rock star so she's probably hard to approach for people anyway. I'm sure she appreciates having someone like you around."

"She seems to have mellowed out just a tad."

"A tad?" Skyla said, laughing as a waiter delivered another cocktail to her. "The Homika I know would have already lashed out at all the autograph seekers, chasing them out of the hotel even. She's made almost a living off of a mean and nasty side, balanced out by a somewhat kinder side. I remember when you heard more about her antics on stage or in general instead of her music but now you just hear about her music, especially how great her concert was last time."

"You're pulling my leg."

She smiled. "I'm serious! If this next concert is just as good as the last, people are going to start talking."

"Talking? Talking about what?"

Skyla grabbed her glass and drank some of her drink. She looked like she was about to speak up when Homika walked over to them. She sat down on his lap and let out a sigh. "Man, I'm bushed."

"You didn't feel like chasing them off?"

She grabbed his glass of lemonade and drank the rest of it in one gulp. "I decided I could tolerate them this time. Goobers can be annoying but they are my fans so I gotta throw them a bone once in a while."

Pitch let out a weak chirp and he reached down to pet his head. "That poor bird."

"Poor bird? Why is he sounding so pathetic? He's supposed to evolve into a fearsome Pokemon. The least he could do is have some courage!"

He sighed. "He is a Flying Pokemon though, electricity is a major weakness for them. Imagine him trying to fly in a big thunderstorm and getting zapped by lightning. If you think getting hit with an attack from an Electric Pokemon would—"

"I was joking Ethan."

Sure didn't sound like it. She slammed the glass down on the side table and motioned to the waiter for another. "Want to try some of my cocktail? It's pretty good. I offered some to Ethan but he won't budge."

She laughed. "I'll pass but you got to forgive Ethan, he's a bit of a lightweight. I gave him some wine and he pretty much passed out after a sip!"

"He does seem like a bit of a lightweight."

"Hey that's a bit—"

"Ugh, it's so humid out here, I'm going to order a room so I can take a shower," she said as she got up.

"Order a room even if we're only—"

"Remember my next concert is here, I might as well get a room here."

Even though he was terrified beyond belief, Pitch still had it in him to fire off a chirp. One Ethan could only agree with. "Okay but have you seen the prices for a room here? It's like, as much as my house! How am I going to afford it? Are there any cheaper hotels around?"

"In Undella? Not really," Skyla said. "Nothing is cheap here. I only come out here to have fun on the beach, I'd never consider staying here."

He looked over at her. "No discounts for being a gym leader?"

She laughed. "That would be like stellar but no! You don't get a lot of perks being a gym leader in all honesty. There's the title and recognition but you always have upstart trainers coming to challenge you everyday. Not only that but you also have to help out with the authorities when things are going on and—"

"So then why are you a gym leader?"

She looked off in the distance. "Well, that's a good question. Despite the problems, you get to see new trainers everyday, what kind of team they have and how well they work together. It's an everyday challenge trying to figure out how to defeat them. They already know what Pokemon you're going to use but it's up to you to come up with enough plans to cover for that. Plus, it's kinda fun helping stop criminals who are up to no good using Pokemon and such, feels you with a sense of pride and purpose!"

"I can feel you on that last one. I do often feel good that I helped take down a villainous plan, even if I earned myself some enemies."

She held up a finger. "Yea but with all the people you've helped in the past, that means more people looking out for you or willing to help. Plus all the awesome friends you make along the way."

He smiled, thinking about all the people he had befriended along the way, from the many gym leaders, countless trainers, some of the Elite Four and even the jerkish Silver. Of course then it had him thinking back to Jasmine and how she seemed to have pushed him away. He was for sure that she would be eager to work together after being apart for a while. Instead she had described him as nothing more than a friend and shoved him off toward Homika. Then again, she didn't seem to be the first trying to push him toward her.

"Hey, wake up. You got all spacey on me there for a minute," Skyla said, causing him to snap back to attention.

"Ahh sorry, just thinking! I was wondering, I could use a water Pokemon. Do you know of any good ones? I mean since you're out in the water surfing, I know you see them out there."

She smiled. "Why not just get another flying Pokemon?"

"I think Pitch will become really jealous if I do that."

She tapped her chin. "Well let me think…a good water Pokemon. There are just so many out there! Wait a minute, I think I have one! It's another flying Pokemon but it's such a beautiful Pokemon when it evolves that I just can't help but—"

"Ethan!" He turned to see Homika standing off toward the elevators. She waved at him and he waved back before turning back to Skyla.

"So what is the Pokemon?"

She laughed. "I think she wants you to join her."

"Huh, but why?" He said before getting up and walking over to Homika. She put her hands on her hips.

"Here, take this. I'm going to cool off until this stupid rainstorm ends but if you need to drop your stuff off, here's a key."

"I thought you didn't want me around because of—"

"Just keep that little...spider in its ball and we'll be okay. If you let it out, I will kill you."

She shoved the keys into his hand and walked off. He scratched his head. "I really wish she'd get comfortable with him. He's pretty harmless."

A few hours later, the monsoon still raged on outside. He stood at the entrance of the hotel, his face almost pressed against the glass as he watched the rain pound everything outside with a fury that he hadn't seen…ever to be honest. The thunder had stopped for the most part but the rain hadn't. He let out another sigh. "This is pretty strange. Usually they pass after a few hours but it's already been a few hours and it shows no sign of moving," Skyla said, a concerned look growing on her face. He looked over at her and nodded. "I guess we were due for a really strong one."

"You've got to be kidding me! It's still going on? I thought you said they last only a few hours!"

Skyla looked over at Homika. "They do. That's why I'm so surprised too. I guess we were—"

"This sucks. I thought once I got out the pool, that the stupid storm would be over so we can go after Team Rocket. But nooo, we're stuck here."

She stomped over to a table and sat down. Skyla joined her but he and Pitch continued to stare out the glass door at the pounding rain. He saw a few small birds out in the rain, including what looked like a sky blue colored duck let. "Hey Skyla, Homika. I see this little bird outside and it looks like a duck—"

"Oh that's the Pokemon I was going to suggest. It's actually called Ducklett and it's part water."

"Wow, it looks kinda cool. I want to catch it!"

"In this pounding rain? Are you crazy?" Homika asked. He looked at her with a big smile on his face. She let out a sigh and tossed a Pokeball to him. "Never mind, go do what you want."

He stepped outside and after only a few seconds, was about as wet as if he had jumped into a full pool but he would worry about that later. Several of the Ducklett flew off but one of them stayed back, staring straight at Pitch, who stood in front of him, ready to fight. The Ducklett let out an annoyed quack and waddled toward Pitch, as fast as the little duck could waddle. Pitch took to the skies and the Ducklett followed. He was about to tell Pitch what to do but shrugged. "I let the others figure out how best to fight, might as well let him too."

Off the bat, even in the rain, he could see that Pitch was a bit more comfortable in the air than the duck. He flew around it several times before coming in close with an attack of his own. Each time the Ducklett would try to get out of the way but Pitch was too fast and agile for him. Soon the duck fluttered to the ground, no longer in the mood to play Pitch's game. Pitch refused to go to the ground but it seemed Ducklett had something in store. It sucked in some air before unleashing a blast of icy, cool air. It crossed directly with Pitch's flight path and that caused him to land in a hurry. Pitch ruffled his feathers in an attempt to warm up but that just gave Ducklett time to charge in and head butt him.

Pitch rolled over backwards a few times while Ducklett followed after him, spraying him with water. Though he had to wonder how much that hurt considering they were both soaking wet already. Pitch got back to his feet and let out an angry chirp, sounding real tired of this. He took to the skies again but made a super quick dive at Ducklett, a move that shocked the both of them. He smacked straight into him, knocking the little duck over. He took to the air again and dove at him again but Ethan yelled out at him. "Hey, I think that's enough Pitch!"

Pitch dove away from the little duck as he flung the Pokeball forward. It captured the Ducklett and rolled around a few times before clicking shut. Pitch landed next to the Pokeball and chirped at it a few times. "Hey calm down Pitch, he's going to be your partner. Better get along."

Pitch gave him an annoyed look but he waved him off. Just like Wiggler, he seemed to really hate losing. Though from the looks of it, Pitch had a bit more of a quick temper than Wiggler now that he thought about it.

He stepped back into the hotel and had a towel thrown straight in his face. He took it off and saw Homika was the one who had tossed it. "So was it worth it?"

"Well it was cool seeing Pitch fight out there. I don't think he cares much for Ducklett but he'll have to get used to it."

Pitch shook himself off and he winced. "Hey, get off my shoulder if you're going to do that!"

Skyla laughed. "Homika said you looked so much like a cute kid with a new toy on Christmas—"

"I didn't say that! Don't even think about it! I said he looked like a stupid idiot, chasing after a little duck in the pouring rain. I mean, who goes out in the pouring rain for just one common Pokemon? You see them all the time in Unova."

Skyla chuckled. "Yea but we're Unova gym leaders, he's a trainer from Johto—"

"You know, it just dawned on me. You two were saying that these storms usually last like a few hours and so?"

Skyla nodded. "Yea, they do."

He walked over to the table and pulled up a chair. He kept it a few inches from the table since he was still soaking wet. "Well, I remember in Hoehn there was a Pokemon that could cause incredible storms. It was a legendary Pokemon by the name of Kyogere and whenever it appeared on a route, the area would be covered with big storms and continuous rain. Is there a Pokemon like that in Unova?"

Skyla and Homika looked at each other for a few before Homika let out a string of curses. She slammed her hands on the table, causing a drink to fly up into his face and splash him. Then again he was already pretty wet so it didn't matter by now. "Those bas****s! Those freakin'—"

"Okay okay, can I at least get a yes or no?"

"There are several Pokemon like that, the Kami trio. Every time they appear somewhere, storms follow them. Unfortunately, they're all legendary Pokemon so they would be difficult to deal with," Skyla said. "If that's true, it's a pretty good way of delaying us. I would have never thought about that angle."

He beamed with pride and looked over at Homika, half expecting her to poke a hole in that but she only shot a glare at him. Better than nothing he supposed. "So now what do we do?"

"I'll send out some of my Pokemon to scout the area. If one of the Kami trio is nearby, they'll spot them."

Pitch let out a chirp and he looked at him. "You want to help too? You aren't tired from your fight with the Ducklett?"

Pitch shook his head and he smiled. "All right, well let me get my Pokemon and we can go from there!" Skyla said as she got up from the table and hurried off. He began to get up as well but heard Homika clear her throat. He looked over at her.

"Huh, what is it?"

"Umm…I guess I should be thankful I have you around. Even if that Kami angle isn't true, I think that was…pretty smart that you thought of it."

Pitch let out a surprised chirp and her mood turned sour in a flash. "What did he just say?"

He laughed. "He was shocked you decided to compliment me but that it was nice to hear."

"Oh…well, fine."


	5. Chapter 5

"So I'll have my birds fly off to the north and you can have Pitch fly to the south," Skyla said as they stood outside in the pouring rain. He nodded but as he began to speak with Pitch, the Pokeball holding Ducklett bounced around in his pocket.

"Hold that thought, I think Ducklett wants my attention."

She laughed. "All of your Pokemon seem to be such characters, I've never seen anything like it. Well maybe I have but not to this extent!"

"It's what I do best," he said as he brought out Ducklett. He quacked at him and Ethan smiled. "You want to help? You aren't tired from your battle with Pitch?"

Pitch let out an annoyed chirp. "Oh hush Pitch. He's your new teammate so you're gonna have to get along. Though I guess I can't call you Ducklett…how about Dodger?"

Pitch seemed pretty amused by it but the duck didn't seem to mind. He flew up to Ethan's shoulder and sat on the one opposite Pitch. He explained the situation to the both of them. "So if you find one of the Kami trio, get back here. Don't even try to take them on, they are legendary Pokemon and too strong for the both of you right now."

Pitch didn't like the sound of that but Ethan had to reassure him it was for the best. He really was pretty competitive. On one hand he liked it but that could come back to bite him later on. Dodger let out a quack and he laughed. "Oh good, I'm glad you won't try to bite off more than you can—"

Pitch interrupted him with a snappy chirp of his own and Ethan sighed. "All right that's enough, both of you! Now get out there!"

He watched them take to the skies and wiped his forehead. "Looks like you have your hands full."

"Tell me about it. Pitch thinks he's stronger than he probably is and wants to take on any sort of challenge while Dodger seems happy with disagreeing with him on everything. I'm afraid what it's going to be like when they evolve."

She leaned on him and laughed. "I think they'll be just fine. They'll mellow out eventually. Even though both seem pretty strong willed, they still obey you. They recognize you as a strong trainer."

"Yea well sometimes it doesn't seem like they respect me."

"They do. Don't you notice how both of them seem to be fighting for your attention? As soon as Dodger came out of its ball, Pitch took exception to it at once. He likes being your primary Pokemon, the one who spends the most time with you and any interlopers won't be tolerated."

He looked over at smiled. "You seem to know Pokemon pretty well."

"Hey, remember I'm a gym leader who specializes in fliers. Of course I'd know them pretty well, they're the only Pokemon I train! Come on, let's get out of this rain.

Back inside, Homika had a thought. "You know…do you think Team Rocket is controlling the Kami trio? I mean, if Ethan's crack theory is true. How would you even control a legendary Pokemon? They're freakin' legendaries for a reason!"

Skyla laughed. "Crack theory? Hehe, you seemed pretty convinced about it—"

"Maybe they aren't controlling them," he said. They looked at him and he shrugged. "From what you guys told me, the Kami are like genies. If they are like genies, perhaps Team Rocket wished for them to help them in their goals. Maybe they just struck a deal with them that was mutually beneficial for the both of them."

Homika's mouth fell open. "What?"

"Just because they're legendary Pokemon, doesn't mean they're good. Or evil for that matter. They can be neutral for all we know. I'm just reminded of that in my dealings with legendary Pokemon before."

"Stop trying to make f***ing sense. I just want to know they're mind controlling Pokemon so it'll give me even more of an incentive to stop them."

He felt like asking why she needed an extra incentive when it came to Team Rocket but he decided against it. "That's an interesting theory but I see your point. I don't really think legendary Pokemon lean one way or the other. I guess we like to believe that they are inherently on our side but that doesn't always seem to be the case."

"That makes it even tougher."

"Maybe, or maybe not. We still have to see if the Kami trio is behind it. For all we know, it could be just a really bad storm."

Homika grumbled and rested her head on the table. "Ugh, I'm just tired of all this waiting!"

He couldn't help but agree. He heard a tap on the glass and turned to see Pitch and Dodger at the door outside. "Wow, that was quick."

He walked over to the door and let them in. Pitch shook himself off at once but he was still soaking wet and Dodger liked being wet so no one raised a fuss. He bent down and Pitch reported back to him. "So…you saw one of the Kami trio to the south of town, floating down one of the beaches? Well that's good news!"

"So they were involved. Darn them! I can't wait to bash their skulls in! I won't even give my Pokemon the honor of it! Those sneaky bas—"

"Homika, calm down."

"Huh? Oh."

"Well since we know where one of them is, I guess we should go meet him."

Skyla laughed. "Well I'm still waiting on my Pokemon. You two should go on ahead and I'll meet up with you later. I think all of us are going to be needed to deal with a legendary."

"What? I can handle a legendary Pokemon by myself!"

He ignored her. "Okay, Homika and me will go find it and you can join us later. I don't expect us to do much but maybe we can reason—"

"Reason?"

He ignored Homika again. "If we can avoid fighting it, that would be cool. As long as we can get it to leave so we can try looking for Team Rocket."

Skyla winked at him. "Okay, sounds like a deal!"

Thunder rumbled over their heads as they walked down the white sandy beach in the direction of the kami. According to Pitch, the Kami was several miles to the south but didn't seem to be moving much so if they didn't waste much time, they would get there pretty shortly. Thanks to the constant rain, Homika opted to wear a bikini matching her famous colored dress, while he just kept his soaking wet clothes on. "Why are you still wearing those?"

"Well I'm already super wet, what's the difference?"

"You could like…let them dry!"

He shrugged as he watched Dodger waddle in front of them. He seemed as pleased as a duck could be in the pouring rain. Pitch had tired of being a sponge and opted to stay in his ball this time around. "I'll be fine."

She didn't respond and he turned his attention back to Dodger, who happily quacked as they went along. He seemed like a generally cheery duck, reminding him a bit of Juan who always seemed to be in a good mood, especially in the rain. He chuckled a bit and Homika shot him a look. "What are you laughing about?"

"Oh, just thinking about one of my Pokemon. He was a Ludicolo named Juan and he always enjoyed being out in the rain. Whenever I had him out of his ball during a storm, he would jump and hop around, singing and dancing. It was a sight to see."

"Oh."

"I hope he's doing okay—"

"You're such a worrywart. You got to the top three of a Pokemon League championship with them, they'll be fine! I swear…"

"Maybe you're right—"

"No, I'm not right. Why do you keep saying that? I'm not right! I'm just a cold and heartless b—"

"You told me that already," he said.

"Yea…so why are you trying to be so nice to me? Why don't you get some stones and tell me what you really think about me?"

Dodger looked at him, wondering what in the world was going on. He waved him off and Dodger went back to doing what he enjoyed most. "Well if you want me to be perfectly honest, I don't know what to think about you. I don't think you're really as much of a jerk as you act. I don't even think I've met the real Homika because everything seems like an act."

"You have met the real Homika! I'm nothing more than a colossal jerk!"

"Okay so you're a jerk. Happy?"

Homika looked down at the ground. "No. I want you to hate me, to push me away—"

"Why are you so eager to push people away? You seem like you want friends and then you do your best to alienate everyone. Doesn't make any sense to me."

Homika didn't answer and he smiled. She didn't say anything for awhile and they just walked in relative silence. "Well we should be getting pretty close to that—"

"Ethan, I hate you."

Dodger let out a surprised quack but he didn't share his sentiment. He was getting used to it by now. "Yea, I know—"

She suddenly shoved him, causing him to fall into the sand face first. Okay, now she was really starting to push it. He began to sit up but felt her grab him by the back of the neck and turn him over. She was a lot stronger than she let on. She pulled him up by the collar and pulled her first back like she was about to slug him. All of a sudden, Dodger came flying in, plopping himself on Ethan's chest and quacking in anger at her. She let go of his collar and looked at him. "You know Homika, this is getting really old now."

She shoved Dodger away and pulled him up by the collar again. "I hate you. I hate your face, I hate your smile, I hate how friendly you are, I hate how many friends you have, I hate how everyone defends you, I hate everything about you! And most of all, I hate how you make me feel about you! You're the worst!"

She let him go and his head fell back to the sand. She stared at him for a few moments and then sighed. "Are you done?"

"I'm sorry."

Dodger let out a shocked quack and he had to sit up for that one. "You're sorry? Is this a real apology or—"

"I really am you…no, I really am sorry. You're right, there is nothing to me. I'm a phony. This act…it's all manufactured. I'm a mega rock star, all I see are angry artists who rage against the world so I thought that is what I had to become. And I did, I became the symbol for the angry rock star and yet I often hated myself for it. I was nowhere near as mean or angry like that when I was younger. But if I acted like the reclusive artist I was, no one would give me the time of day."

"You really don't know that—"

"Would you have given me the time of day if I was like the recluse I had become? Holed up in my room, writing songs and playing my guitar."

He smiled. "How could I? You would have been holed up in your room."

She raised her fist toward him again but it only lasted for a moment. "Heh, you're right. We never would have met. You like to get out and experience life and look what it's done for you."

"Look what your hard work has done for you!"

Her mouth fell open and he nodded. "What it's done for me—yea I guess you're right. I've got all the talent in the world but what good is it when you don't have anyone to share it with? Look at you, even though you've gone through all the heartache of coming close to the crown but falling short. You had your friends to console you and reassure you. Who do I have when the lights go off and the adrenaline rush dies off?"

"Is that why you turned to alcohol?"

"Of course! But ever since I met you…I don't know, I just…feel more at ease, more relaxed…I know it doesn't seem that way because I've still been a jerk but I thought if I acted differently, that you wouldn't want to be around me."

Why would anyone want to be around someone who acted like that? Other than him obviously but he only had bothered because he felt she was just putting up an act. "Well, I only stuck with you because I thought it was an act. If I knew you were really like that…I probably would have ditched you."

"Good, you deserve better than that. I really should have treated you better but maybe we could start over?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Dodger hopped back onto his chest and quacked a warning at her. She reached over and patted it on the head, causing Dodger to look at him, very confused. He smiled at him. "Well I mean…remember how you were pretending to be my boyfriend? I've forgotten the reason why we did it but this time…maybe for real? You can get to learn more about the real Homika and not the Homika that everyone else gets to see?"

"That's a real funny question to ask after you tried to slug me."

She closed her eyes and nodded. "I know! It really is but I don't know what I would do without you. I'd probably just…go back to being a mega bi—"

"Well…to be honest, I think I might be interested in learning about the real Homika and not the manufactured one."

She looked like she was almost about to cry but again, that lasted if only for a moment. Instead she grabbed him by the collar again and pulled his face close to hers. "Thank you."

Just before she could move any closer, a cheery voice interrupted them. "Oh, sorry! I think I came at a bad time—"

Homika released him at once and his head fell back to the sand. "Nope! You were interrupting anything! I was just about to slug him in the face for saying something silly!"

Skyla laughed. "It sure didn't look like it to me. More like a lover's quarrel."

Homika got to her feet and dusted herself off. "Well maybe it was but we'll have to continue it another time. I think we're getting real close to that stupid Pokemon."

Skyla sighed. "I sure hope so. It'd be a drag if it got away."

"I don't think it'll get away. The storm has intensified, in fact another one of the trio may have shown up if that's the case."

"Huh, the storm worsened?" Homika asked. She looked around, and so did he. To his surprised, the wind had picked up quite a bit and even the lightning had returned. "Wow, didn't notice."

Skyla laughed. "You two must have really been distracted—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence! I swear if you do—"

"Maybe we should just get going," he said while Dodger quacked in agreement. Homika nodded.

"Yea, I really need to smash something and if it's Team Rocket, that's the perfect target!"

After awhile, they came across a humanoid looking Pokemon that resembled one of those genies you'd see in the movies. He had blue skin, with dark purple spots on his body, thick white hair and beard along with a pretty muscular looking body. He floated on a large white cloud which he looked down on them, laughing.

"So it was Thundurus."

"Who cares what he is? Hey bozo, why don't you—"

"Well well, isn't this a surprise. Not only did I attract the attention of two Unova gym leaders but the number one troublemaker himself."

Ethan's mouth fell open. He knew that voice, only too well but…why was he here? Last he remembered, the guy had sworn Team Rocket was disbanded for good. "Archer? I thought you retired?"

The teal haired Rocket Executive stepped out, holding a large black umbrella over his head. "Giovanni is a very convincing man. I had retired but when he came to me personally with his plans to put Team Rocket back on top, I couldn't help but support him."

"Peachy."

Homika glared at him. "So what did you do to this legendary Pokemon? Why is it helping you? Don't tell me you twisted crooks are using mind control!"

Archer shrugged. "What's it to you?"

"I'll show you what's it to me—" Homika said but he held out his hand in front of her. He returned his gaze to Archer.

"But how did you get them to work with you?"

Archer chuckled. "Now why would I show my hand to you?"

"Well I just thought it would be nice. Let's go."

"G-go? We didn't come here for small talk! We came here to bash his skull in and I'm—"

"This is just wasting time. All he's doing is just being a distraction now that I think about it. We'd just be doing what they—"

Before he could finish, a large lightning bolt hit the ground in front of them. They all jumped back and he could hear Archer chuckle. "You're kind of right there but what good is a distraction if it doesn't distract?"

"You think you'll defeat us that easily?"

"I like my chances," he said as he tossed a Pokeball forward. If it was who he thought it was, they were in for a fight. As expected, Houndoom appeared from the ball and stood near Thundurus. Homika pulled out a Pokeball of her own, summoning Weezing to the fight.

"One on three? How is that fair? I say, all you evily type people are so confident," Skyla said as she summoned a Pokemon of her own. To him it looked like a bat with a large snout, it must have been native to Unova. He tapped a Pokeball against his chin. He knew about Houndoom's type and judging by its name, Thundurus was part electric and flying. How would he do this? Both Pitch and Dodger were at a horrible disadvantage against Thundurus, even though he knew Pitch would still fight. Then again, Bolt was at a disadvantage too against Houndoom. Times like this, he wished he had his old team.

"What's wrong Ethan? Not confident about your chances? That's not like you."

Ethan laughed. "Oh, I was just thinking of a plan, that's all," he said as he summoned Pitch and Bolt to the fight. By now, Homika and Skyla had directed their attention to the others but he wasn't ready, just yet. He motioned his Pokemon over in a mini huddle. "Okay you three, we're kind of at a disadvantage here but we're gonna try this plan I have. Dodger, I want you to help deal with Houndoom. He's part fire so you got an advantage there. Pitch, I want you to distract Thundurus, don't try and attack him."

Pitch didn't like the sound of it but Ethan reassured him. "No, trust me. It's for the best, he's pretty strong and could zap you with lightning. I think we could weaken him though…Bolt, I want you to latch onto Thundurus and start draining it of its electrical power. Hopefully that will weaken it enough for the others to defeat it."

The three Pokemon hurried off as he took out the last Pokeball, holding Rai. "You are really going all out, I like it," Archer said with a chuckle. Ethan summoned Rai, who popped out, looking in quite a bit of pain. Archer frowned, probably aware of how this would play out. "Houndoom, move it!"

Rai let out a cry as he released all the stored up electricity into a huge bolt of lightning which sent everyone scattering in different directions. The distraction worked as he noticed Bolt hop onto Thundurus, no one the wiser. "Ethan, what was that?"

"Oh, Rai just had to let off some steam. Rai, show Houndoom who's boss!"

Rai charged at the fiery dog but it met him head on. The headbutt stunned both of them but Houndoom recovered first and lunged at Rai. He latched onto him with his teeth but he soon realized that was a pretty bad idea.

While Houndoom and Rai fought it out, Dodger flew in every so often like a little bomber, spitting water at him. Maybe not enough to do serious damage but all those water attacks began to add up, causing Houndoom to slow down a bit as he continued to get soaked. It didn't help that it was raining as well. Looking over at Thundurus, it was fighting with ease against Weezing and the bat Pokemon, something he expected. Homika didn't seem happy at all about it, was she about to do something crazy. "Weezing, use Toxic! We'll just poison him to death!"

"W-w-wait Homika," he said but it was too late as the Weezing emit a large cloud of poisonous smog. Too bad it hit their Pokemon, as well as Archer's. Soon as the cloud dissipated, he noticed almost every Pokemon on the field was suffering the effects of Toxic, except for Weezing and Bolt, who was pretty strong against Poison. He felt like yelling at her but decided against it. That was how she battled and he'd just have to plan for it.

"Nice going, now your allies' Pokemon are poisoned as well."

"Shut up! I'll do whatever I can to put you down!"

"Homika, wait!"

Archer laughed. "You know, you're darn lucky Ethan is on your team or I would have put you down already. For a gym leader, you have a terrible strategy."

Homika shook her fist at him. "Shows what you know! My record as a gym leader is pretty good! People come in thinking they can take advantage of my strategy and then wear themselves out thanks to all the status effects I put them under! And it'll be the same for you!"

While this circle jerk went on, he noticed that Thundurus seemed to be slowing down. He was tiny but he could take in quite a bit of electricity. Archer noticed as well and frowned. "Huh, what is going on?"

"Ha, see what my poison did to it?"

"That isn't poison," Archer said, waving her off. He looked over at Ethan, who smiled at him. Rai unleashed a Thunderbolt which knocked out Houndoom but Archer seemed more concerned about Thundurus. "What did you do?"

"Now why would I show my hand?"

"Ha, now we can turn the tide!" Skyla said. Her bat Pokemon's eyes glowed as it lifted several large rocks with Psychic, before lobbing them at Thundurus. That brought it to its knees, so to speak. Before Homika could come in, the Thundurus vanished into thin air, leaving only Bolt behind. Archer looked over at Bolt and chuckled.

"So that's how you did it. And it seems our partnership has ended," he said as he summoned Houndoom to its ball. Homika laughed but Archer was unaffected. "Well I've lost, that was a good match but I did what I needed to do."

A sick feeling grew in his stomach as he realized they had fallen into the very trap they were trying to avoid. Archer noticed his disgusted look and smiled. "We'll let you have this one."

"I'm sure you will. I like the new team but the outcome will be different next time," he said as he summoned an Alakazam, who teleported the two of them away. Homika stomped her foot in the sand.

"Ugh, he got away! The coward!"

"Yea but he did succeed in distracting us. Now they probably got away again," Skyla said. Homika shrugged.

"I don't care. I got to bash in some Team Rocket head and that's all that matters!"

"Homika, that was really risky unleashing Toxic. I had a plan in mind but you…" He began to say before looking away. Skyla winked at him.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going ahead back to Undella."

When she was gone, he looked over at Homika again. "I'm not trying to be tough on you but—"

"W-w-why are you trying to sugarcoat it?"

"Sugarcoat it?"

She folded her arms. "Ethan, you know what your problem is? You're too nice. Why don't you tell me I was an idiot? It's okay, I can take it! Just don't try to be all nice about it."

"I can't say that—"

"Yes you can! It's the only way it'll have any impact with me," she said, arms folded. He looked away for a moment and gathered himself.

"Okay but I warned you. Homika, that was a really idiotic thing you did. You could have caused us to lose the entire match because you went off and tried to do your own thing and we were fortunate my plan worked. Otherwise, we would have been in big trouble. Happy?"

She shrugged. "Eh, you can work on it but…" she began to say before looking away. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had a plan," she said. She shot a glare at him. "Look at you, you're turning me into a sap! That's why I want to hate you so much!"

"Want to?"

She nodded. "Want to but can't. That's why it's so maddening."

He shook his head and looked over at his Pokemon. "Good job guys, you did a great job! The plan worked perfectly, even though he got away."

He looked over at Homika. "And your poison attack did help in a way. It weakened both of his Pokemon and let us defeat them much quicker."

"Stop trying to make me feel better—"

"I'm being honest! I know I was annoyed when you did it but it did help. Just be more careful next time."

She walked up to him and he thought she would fire off a sarcastic remark but instead she patted him on the back. "Yea well…thanks regardless. So now what?"

He summoned the other Pokemon back to their balls except for Pitch, who was happy the rain had ended. "What do you mean? You heard Archer, the plan worked. It probably means they got away, again."

"I'm talking about my concert!"

"Oh! But what can I do about it?"

She shrugged. "I want to debut a new song at my next concert. Not this one but the next one and I want you to help me!"

"Oh, okay," he said before it dawned on him what she had just asked. "Wait, what? I can't write a song! I've never even done it before!"

"There's a first time for everything. I'm not asking you to write the whole thing, just help me out. I'll bounce ideas off you and stuff."

He and Pitch shared a look. "Do you usually have someone to help you out?"

"No but I'm not like some sort of dunce when it comes to these relationship thingies. Isn't that what couples do?"

"I guess? I'm not really an expert on stuff like that."

She shrugged. "Oh well, I think they do. Whatever, let's just get back to Undella."

Back in Undella, they found Skyla waiting for them. She put her hands on her hips and smiled as she took in the warm sun. "Now this, I tell ya, is more like it! I can't stand all that rain and stuff, it gets so boring and depressing!"

"Yea, well at least we chased away that stupid legendary. Now we just need to catch up with that stupid Team Rocket. I'm sick of them getting away like that!

Skyla laughed. "Hey, at least we're keeping them on their toes, right? Hard to scheme and stuff when you have to stay on the run, right?"

He smiled. "That's the idea but I'm sure they're ready for that. We just have to keep on them, don't let them get any room to breathe. If we keep at it, I'm sure we can root them out. I hope."

"So now what?" Skyla asked.

"Well I have my concert to get ready for but once that's over with, we can continue on with the hunt!"

It still seemed a bit odd for them to have to worry about a concert when Team Rocket was running around free, up to no good but then again, what did he know about having to balance responsibilities like that and fighting crime? It was easy for him to swing but for others like Homika and Skyla, it probably wasn't so easy.

Homika unlocked the door to her room and he walked into the biggest mess of a hotel room he had seen yet. First off he noticed how big the main room was, at least the size of his own home and well furnished. The carpet felt as if he walked on pillows but he had to be careful to avoid stepping on one of the glass bottles. Besides the bottles, there was trash all over the place and he could smell the faint hint of alcohol. Pitch let out a shocked chirp. "Yea, I'm with you. What's going on here Homika?"

She picked up a couple bottles. "I was frustrated so I decided to take it out on the room—"

"But it's such a mess—"

"What are you, my mom?" She asked with a scowl and then a wink. "I'm a rockstar, rock stars are supposed to trash their rooms, be destructive and be overall divas. It's what they do best. It's all about them and screw the rest of the world!"

"Yea but is that who you are?"

She shot a glare at him, probably unable to answer that. Then she looked away and sighed. "Heh, I don't…think so. To be honest, I don't really like it. It seems d*** stupid to make such a mess, what's the point?"

Pitch chirped and he couldn't agree more. "So why do it?"

She looked over at him. "Because…well…oh be quiet," she said in defeat. She picked up some of the bottles and he began to notice that a lot of the bottles were empty. In fact, all of them were and there were quite a few. "Did you…drink all of these? You didn't smell like it."

She dumped some of them in the trash. "No. I felt like it but it seemed really stupid so I just dumped them down the sink."

She kicked aside the other bottles and grumbled. "That's a lot of—"

"I'm tired of this, come with me into the bedroom. We're gonna work on that song!"

She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the spacious bedroom, which was a bit cleaner than the main area. It had a bed that appeared to be two king sized beds put together, covered with teal colored sheets and a mountain of pillows. Next to the bed lay a small nightstand and off to the side, he could see a walk in bathroom and tub. "Just how much was this room?"

She grabbed a large white tee shirt from a drawer and put it on over her bikini. She grabbed a notepad and hopped onto the bed before looking over at him. "If you have to ask, it's better off not to know."

"I'm still wet from the rain, I can't hop on there. Let me get a chair."

"Do you see how big this bed is? It won't matter."

Pitch flew off his shoulder and took roost in the windowsill while he joined her on the bed. She tapped the pen against her head and frowned. "I think I got the title for it, Hate. Yea, that's what I'll call it!"

"Hate? Why do you want to call it that?"

She looked over at him with a mischievous look on her face. "You want to know why? It's because of you."

Pitch let out an amused chirp and got a look from her. She looked back over at him and smirked. "Well you have told me how much you hate me but I can't help you write a song where you tell the world how much you hate me!"

She shook her head. "You don't get it, do you?"

"No, I think I'm missing something here."

She rolled her eyes. "Well it's kinda simple. I want to write a song about how much I hate you. Not because I really really hate your guts but because of what I'm turning into because of you."

"You say it like it's a bad thing."

"That's not how I want it to come off though!"

He folded his arms. "So you really don't hate what you're becoming but a part of you does hate it?"

She pointed a finger at him. "I think you're seeing it. See, I always thought that really liking someone was so dumb. You can't talk straight, your head is in the clouds and you—ugh, look at me! I'm going soft!"

"You think you are?"

She nodded. "Yes and it's because of you! If I hadn't met you, I would still have my edge, my hardness…my whatever! Now that you're around, I don't feel so edgy. My anger at the world is dying and I can't even look at a bottle of rum the same way. Watch, I'm going to become one of those pop stars who sings bubbling lyrics and how everything is rainbows and sunshine—"

"And I don't see that happening. Why don't you stop complaining about it? You don't have to become a pop star."

She sat up straight. "What, of course I will! How am I supposed to be a rock star when I'm no longer depressed and angry at the world? You know how easy it is to write songs of rage when you aren't angry?"

He shook his head. "I know I don't know a lot about rock and roll but I'm sure they sing about all kinds of stuff. You seem so obsessed with trying to fit into the rock star image that you don't seem interested in becoming your own person."

She looked away. "Become my own person? How am I supposed to do that?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not sure but I know we can figure it out."

She frowned and began to write on her notepad. "I think I got a better idea for a song. I'm not in the right…thinking mode for something angry so I'll just write about…rock and roll."

He smirked. "Well that works I guess—"

"If you were gonna write a song, what would you write about?"

He rubbed his chin. "Well I don't know but probably about Pokemon."

"You're so boring. Aren't there any other topics you would sing about?"

"Now that I think about it, me and Wiggler once wrote up a rap about—"

She slammed her fist on the bed. "No, no, no, stop right there! No self respecting boy of mine is gonna write a rap song. No way, no how!" She said, shaking her fist at him.

He laughed. "Oh come on, it's pretty great. In fact I think I still remember some of the lyrics! I can sing them to—"

He didn't get to finish as he got nothing but a pillow in his face. He rolled backwards from the force but he did it mainly for dramatic effect. He even rolled off the edge of the bed and fell onto the floor. He looked up to see her poke her head over the edge, looking a bit concerned. "A-a-are you okay?"

He smiled at her. "I'm a-okay."

Her look went from concerned to annoyed in a flash. "W-what? You jerk, you were just playing around! That's not funny at all!"

He began to get up but she suddenly hopped on top of him and grabbed his collar, shaking him several times. "Homika, Homika…come on, did you really think you hit me that hard?"

"I'm stronger than you think," she said. She suddenly rested her forehead in his chest. "I am going soft—"

They heard a crash coming from the main area and she looked up in that direction. "Did I hear something break or—"

"I heard it too. Did some jerk try to break in? One of those stalkers? If I catch them, it's all over!" She said as she stood up and walked into the main room. He got to his feet and followed after her. Several of the bottles that had been on the table were now lying in a heap on the floor. Homika began to look around the room and he joined her. "Just, look for something that is missing."

He looked over at her and she began to realize how bad that sounded. "Well—"

"Forget I asked that. Just help me clean up after I take a look around."

He stepped back and sat down in a nearby chair. "What did you have here in this room? Other than all the alcohol bottles?"

"There were a few magazines around, I think a couple of trays with food and…and…oh…f***!" She said before letting off a long string of curses. She slammed her fist on the table and he jumped in surprise. She looked ready to flip the table but instead grabbed a chair and rested her head on the table. "Idiot! I can't believe—"

"What's wrong? What's missing?"

"That Pokemon I stole from Team Rocket. I had it here resting on the desk and now it's gone. They must have come here just to get it and get out—"

"Well we should go ask the hotel staff. Pitch, fly out the window and see if you see anyone suspicious!"

Pitch took off for an open window and he began to leave. He looked over at her and walked over to pat her on the shoulder. "Hey, I know it's frustrating but we'll get them. I'm surprised they didn't ransack the place while we were too busy fighting Archer."

She didn't answer and he decided to leave her alone for now. He hurried out of the room and almost bowled over a cleaning lady and her Chansey but stopped himself short. "Oh, hey, did you see anyone come out of this room? Like in the past few minutes?"

The lady shook her head. "I saw the door open but no one came out of the room. I peeked in and saw how messy it was so I was preparing to clean it next."

He frowned. How could the door open but no one came out? Well unless it was a Ghost Pokemon. He smiled at her. "Thanks anyway."

He walked down into the main lobby and continued out through the front door. He looked up in the sky for Pitch and could see him circling the hotel, keeping a sharp eye out for anyone. He soon flew back down to him and gave the disappointing report. Ethan petted his head and smiled. "It's okay Pitch. I think Team Rocket used a ghost to snatch it right under our noses. That was pretty sneaky of them, I got to admit."

Pitch let out a chirp and he laughed. "Nah, I think we'll be ready for them next time. Whenever that is."


	6. Chapter 6

He peeked out from behind the enormous teal curtain and looked out at the huge crowds that had gathered again. There were even more than the last one and they were all chanting for her. He closed it and walked over to her. "Wow, even more than last time. I can't even imagine it getting bigger than this."

Homika looked up at him and smiled. "You watch, we even got a bigger concert planned next. The biggest yet but…" she said before looking sad. "Stupid Team Rocket, they stole that Pokemon right under our noses."

"Stop worrying about it. We'll get them back. You just worry about giving them the show they want."

"Yea but it still bugs me that they've pulled the rug out from under us twice in a row. First by distracting us and then stealing that Pokemon! It just…urgh!"

"You should use that direct that energy to the concert. Knock their socks off. I can take a look around the area and see if they show up again. I don't expect them to since they got what they wanted but I'm sure they would love to cause trouble again."

She grabbed his hand. "Don't bother. Why would they need to cause any trouble? They'd just be pushing their luck and I'm pretty sure they aren't dumb enough to do that. Just sit back and enjoy the show!"

The chants grew louder and louder for her. She smiled and pumped her fist as if the cheers gave her energy. It probably did to be honest. She always seemed to be a more energetic person on stage. "Okay, no problem."

She nodded and pulled away from him as the curtains began to part. He made his way down the back stairs but for some reason, he still had this nagging thought that Team Rocket would get involved somehow. Why was he so paranoid? He let out a sigh and looked at Pitch. "Let's go take a look around Pitch. I still have this feeling that Team Rocket is lying around, waiting to cause a little more trouble."

He walked around the backstage area for a bit, exchanging small talk with the workers back there but not finding much in the way of Team Rocket. He began to think he was just worrying about nothing and was on his way back when he noticed someone sneaking around back where all the power for the concert was being controlled. He walked over and soon found a Team Rocket member poking around. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

The guy looked up at him and smiled. He looked like he was in his thirties but with all the lines and wrinkles on his face; you could easily mistake him for being older. His face seemed to light up when he realized whom Ethan was. "You!"

"Yes, me. That's beside the point! Ha, I had my suspicion that you guys would try something and look what I've found!"

"No, look what I've found! I've been waiting for this day for a long, long time. Do you realize how much trouble you caused me? Do you?"

"Well…no. What are you talking about?"

The man glared at him. "You trounced me when you invaded our gig at Azalea Town! I got into so much trouble for letting a kid trainer beat me! They berated me for days, threatened to send me sleeping with the Magikarp for my failure! They even sent me off to the frozen tundra of Sinnoh for a bit. And all because of a stupid kid trainer!"

Ethan's mouth fell open. "Ahh but…who are you? I don't remember fighting you in Azalea. I know I fought some Team Rocket grunts before me and Crystal fought Proton but…yea."

The man growled. "You don't remember? How can you not remember?"

"I'm sorry, I've fought so many of you guys that it's hard to remember. And you all wear masks so…forget that, what are you doing back here?"

He chuckled. "I was going to pull the plug on this stupid concert but I was hoping you would show actually! Now I can finally get my revenge and—"

"Not if I can help it!"

The guy summoned a Charmleon and a Piplup. "Let's see if you can handle this! I swiped them from some kid entering the concert."

"I bet that really makes you feel like a hero, doesn't it?" Ethan said as Pitch flew off his shoulder. He took out the ball holding Bolt and let him out as well. The guy laughed.

"A bug? You're bringing a bug into the fight? How stupid—" He didn't get to finish as Pitch nosedived at the Charmleon and pecked him in the face. He flew up and away to avoid a counterattack. While the lizard and even the penguin were distracted, Bolt scattered over to the Piplup and latched on. "That stupid bird! Charmleon, use Flamethrower!"

Charmleon opened its mouth and spat several large fireballs at Pitch but Pitch was able to maneuver out of the way with ease. He seemed to enjoy it actually. The Charmleon was less than amused and let out an annoyed growl before firing off more fireballs at it. The Piplup lost interest in Bolt and watched this battle. "Your Pokemon is a bit of a hothead."

"Shut up! You think you're so funny!"

Ethan took out the ball holding Dodger and let him out as well. Dodger took one look at the Charmleon and quacked in laughter. The Charmleon shot a glare at him, only to get pecked by Pitch again. He really seemed to enjoy that hit and run away strategy. Dodger flew toward the Piplup and quacked at him as he flew by. The Piplup chirped in anger at him and tried to spray him with water, like that would do any good. It did cause him to forget about Bolt and that proved to be its undoing as Bolt unleashed some of that electricity it had stored up from draining Thundurus, knocking out the poor penguin in an instant. "You really didn't learn anything from our last fight?"

"Quiet!"

Ethan watched as Dodger sprayed the lizard with water. This fight wouldn't last much longer. "Maybe if you stopped stealing Pokemon and tried to train some Pokemon of your own, you might do better."

The man stomped his foot. "Charmleon, show this guy who's boss!"

"Huh?" Ethan said before the lizard turned and breathed a blast of fire in his direction. He fell to the ground in an instant to avoid it. The guy laughed. "Not so tough now, are you?"

"Would you be if a Pokemon attacked you?"

The man puffed out his chest. "Once I take you down, I can drag your hide back to Giovanni. You know how big of a price he has on your head?"

"Enough for you to get a life?"

"Five hundred thousand dollars! Five hundred thousand!"

"Wow, maybe I should pretend to turn myself in—"

"You idiot! I'm going to take you in and collect the reward! Maybe then they will finally acknowledge me and I can get in their good graces once again!"

He hadn't notice how long he had been gone but he noticed that it wasn't as loud before. Had the concert ended already? She was going to kill him if she knew he had skipped out on her concert. "If that's what it'd take to get in their good graces, I feel kind of bad for you."

He noticed a familiar pair of boots appear in the darkness behind the Team Rocket guy and gritted his teeth. "What's with all of these smart a** quips? You're pretty cheeky for a guy who—"

He didn't get to finish as Homika smashed a wooden guitar over his head. Pitch and Dodger chirped and quaked in response. Pieces of wood fell everywhere as the guy fell face first on the ground next to his Charmleon. He looked up at her and she tossed the rest of it on his back. "And stay down you—"

"Homika! I don't think you had to go that far. I was doing fine."

"It's just a prop, he'll be fine," she said. "What are you doing back here? I was looking for you during the concert and didn't see you anywhere out in the crowd! And then when the concert was over, I asked where you went and they said you went backstage somewhere!"

He laughed nervously. "Sorry but it kept nagging me. I thought Team Rocket would cause some trouble and guess what? He was! He was going to cut the power to the concert. I couldn't let him do that."

She relaxed a bit. "He was? He was going to cut the power on me? Why I…you idiot, b******! F*** you, I hope you—"

"Homika, Homika. He's knocked out, he can't even hear you now."

"I want to make sure he can hear me in la-la land! I want him to hear me when he wakes up from his little nap and is rotting in prison! How dare you try to kill my concert! I hope you burn in hell, you hear me?"

"I'll…just leave you alone," he said as he summoned his Pokemon back, except for Pitch, who went back to his usual perch on his shoulder.

By the time he made it to her trailer, he found a guy decked out in gear with her face plastered on it. He looked more like an advertisement than anything else and it looked a bit odd to him. He figured he had to get used to it sooner or later. "Oh, are you looking for Homika?"

"Huh? Oh, I was looking for you!"

"Me? I'm not part of the band!"

He shoved a replica Pokeball and a pen in his direction. "I know you aren't part of the band but could I still get your John Hancock?"

"What?"

"Your autograph."

"Oh…I've never had someone ask that before. Why do you want it though?"

"Are you kidding? You know how much better she is now? She was getting really outlandish and crazy but it seems ever since you've been around, she's calmed down a bit. Her last two concerts have been the best ever! And everyone is really looking forward to her next concert; it'll be the best ever. Honestly, I thought you would be a horrible influence on her but the exact opposite!"

"I uh…" He said, unsure what to say. He took the pen and signed in. "Glad to be of help."

The guy flashed a thumps up toward him. "Yea, you too! I'm really looking forward to that next concert now! It's gonna be awesome, especially since she seems to be concentrating on just singing!"

This was getting a bit silly but he just smiled. The guy soon left and he went inside the trailer. He kind of expected more fans around but the guards usually did a good job of keeping the throngs controlled. Pitch fluttered over to an open window and chirped. "Yea, it is kind of stuffy in here."

He reached over to open a nearby window and tried to open but to no avail. He bent down to get more leverage but it refused to budge. Suddenly a hand reached over and flicked a switch on the side and it opened up. He looked over at her and laughed. "Oh, I guess I didn't see that."

"You're so silly sometimes," she said as she walked over to the door and closed it. She sat down on a nearby chair and grabbed a water bottle.

"I'm sorry for not being at the concert—"

"What are you apologizing for? You stopped that…goon from messing up the concert."

"Yea but I know how much it would have meant to you for me to be out there in the crowd."

She shrugged. "Wouldn't have mattered if he pulled the plug," she said. She slammed down the bottle on a nearby table. "Ethan, if you apologize once more, I'm gonna throw this at your head!"

He did as he was told and laid down on the futon she had in the corner. "It was just some guy I had beaten years ago and I guess he held a grudge that long. I was shocked someone would hold a grudge for that long. What's the point?"

She sighed and got up and sat down on the edge of the futon near his chest. "For someone pretty young, you've sure made a lot of enemies already."

"Well someone had to stop them. I guess me and my Pokemon were the lucky ones, if you call that luck."

She sighed. "Sorry for how I acted back there."

"Back…where?"

She undid the barrettes on her hair and let it fall down. "Backstage when I went ballistic on that guy."

"Oh that. Well he did try to kill your concert so I understand your outrage. I don't understand why you bashed him over the head with a guitar but you often say how much you want to do that to Team Rocket so I guess they had it coming."

"Yea but still it seemed silly."

He sat up. "Homika, if you keep apologizing…I'll…hmm…I'll bring Bolt out."

She grabbed him by the collar but not with her usual anger. It seemed like more out of jest. "You are so bad at threats."

"I guess I am."

She smiled at him and let go of his collar. "I'm just…not like that. I was angry at him but not like that."

"So then why did you do it?"

"Because no one deserves to see the real me. They only deserve to see the fake Homika, the crazy rock star. You're about the only one who deserves to see the real me. Besides—"

They heard a tapping at the door and she let out a frustrated sigh. "I wonder who that is?"

"Pests. That's what they are. This had better be good, real good!" She said as she got up and walked over to the door. She opened. "Yes, what is it?"

He couldn't really hear what the other person was saying and he began to get up. She motioned over to him, looking a tad annoyed while she was at it. "What's up?"

"This chick wants to see you. I forgot her name…"

Homika stepped aside and he walked over to see Jasmine standing outside. She waved at him. "Oh hey Jas—"

"Maple," she said, still donned in that new look she had gone with. He almost felt like telling her original look was much better but considering who was standing next to him, it was probably better he keep his mouth shut for now.

"Good to see you but what are you doing here?"

She blushed. "Uh, could we walk around a bit?"

He couldn't see it but he could feel the death glare from Homika. He laughed. "Sure—"

"What?"

He looked back at Homika. "Oh calm down—" but he didn't get to finish as she first pushed him out and slammed the door behind him. He looked at it for a few and scratched his head. "That Homika."

Pitch flew over to his shoulder and Jasmine sighed. "I'm sorry if I got you in hot water. I didn't mean to."

He patted her on the shoulder. "Oh stop being such a worrywart. We're friends. She can throw a little tantrum if she wants."

She nodded. "I suppose you're right."

He began to walk toward the stage and she followed. "So what have you been up to? Learned anything new about Team Rocket?"

"Not really. The trail has gone cold. Ryan and me thought we had a lead on something but it turned out to be a dud. Then he had to go take care of something so I've been working alone."

"Alone? You didn't have to do that! You could have worked with us, we could really use your help."

Jasmine looked away. "I think I'd just be intruding."

"You wouldn't be intruding, what makes you think that?"

She sighed. "Because the two of you are…"

"Well I know that but you're still my friend."

Jasmine muttered something under her breath but when asked to clarify, she laughed. "Oh, nothing, nothing."

"I got to admit, the trail is kind of cold for us as well. We thought they were up here in Undella but they got away and now we aren't sure where they could have gone next."

"Well that's good to know."

"So what was that lead you had, the one you said turned out to be a dud?"

Jasmine tapped her chin. "It was something about an old destroyed lab. Something got out and destroyed everything there and it may have still been lurking around."

"That sounds real interesting but how did it turn out to be a dud?"

"Well we went to the person who might have known more about it but he was…well out of his mind so to speak. Not sure we can trust the word of a madman."

Pitch chirped and he nodded. "Yea but…maybe we should go see him again. It's about the only lead we have right now. Maybe he is crazy or maybe he was just pretending."

She looked at him with a skeptical look. "He looked and acted pretty crazy to me."

"Trust me, if he's acting, Homika will make sure he isn't acting anymore. Where was he at?"

"He was living in a hut near Twist Mountain."

"I don't know where that's at but we should go check it out all the same!"

Jasmine laughed. "Well if you want, you two can—"

"What? It's not fair that we work together while you have to do it alone. You should come along."

Pitch let out a chirp and he looked over at him. "Huh? What do you mean Homika won't go for it?"

"Exactly, I don't think I'd be welcome. You two can go investigate it and I'll…work with one of the gym leaders here. I know they're working on it too so I'll have someone to help me. Oh, I wanted to give you something!"

She dug into her bag and pulled out his phone and his Pokedex. "Oh wow, thanks!"

She blushed. "I found it when we came across an old Team Rocket base. I still haven't found any of your old Pokemon though. I wonder what happened to them?"

"I'm not worried, they're all pretty tough. We almost won the Pokemon League Championship together, I know they can take care of themselves."

She reached over and pet Pitch's head. "He's kind of cute. What kind of Pokemon do you have now, other than Rai?"

He motioned to Pitch. "Well he's kind of taken Wiggler's role for the one who likes to hang out with me outside of his ball. I've also caught a Ducklett named Dodger and a Joltik named Bolt."

She laughed. "You need a steel Pokemon."

"You and Homika are gonna force a steel and Poison Pokemon on me, I know it. I'm pretty much holding out a spot for them because I know it's going to happen."

She winked. "Well if I do come across a steel Pokemon I think you'd like, I'll give it to you and you better use it!"

By the time he got back to the trailer, he found Homika sitting on the steps, playing her guitar. She didn't look up at him as he approached but before he could clear his throat, Pitch let out a really loud chirp. He was kind of surprised the little guy had it in him. Homika jumped and shot a glare at him. "What was that for? Stupid freaking' bird."

"He just wanted to get your attention."

"Well I was avoiding it. Why are you back so soon? I thought you wanted to spend more time with your…friend."

He laughed. "She is my friend so why are you acting like this?"

"You seem to have a lot of friends that are girls. Are you some sort of playboy?"

"Well…I think I tried to at one time but I was pretty bad at it so I decided to quit it. Then it seemed I was able to make friends a lot easier."

She nodded. "Figures."

"Maple did tell me about a lead we could look into. Apparently some guy near Twist Mountain knows about a lab that might have belonged to Team Rocket."

"Twist Mountain, huh? I know where that's. Just a weird location for some guy to be at. Well, we can go check it out. Is that chick tagging along or something? I know you tried to—"

Pitch chirped something at him and he nodded. Leave it to one of his Pokemon to chime him in on something he didn't realize. "Homika would you please quit it? She's my friend, that's all. She is not trying to steal me away or something so you can quit acting so jealous!"

She looked at him, almost in shock. She looked like she was ready to respond but didn't seem like it and just looked away. Pitch let out another chirp and he shot him a look. "What do you mean I'm getting banished to the couch? What couch are you—"

"Your bird is a loudmouth. A real loud mouth."

"He does his best."

She set down the guitar. "Okay okay, I'll try to cool it—"

"Try to?"

"Okay I'll cool it."

Twist Mountain was a solitary mountain in the middle of a thick evergreen forest. From what she had told him, it was home to an impressive amount of mines inside but you couldn't really tell from the outside. Perhaps they were all in the back? He looked up at the rocky peak and whistled. "It's kind of weird for a mountain to be here all by its lonesome."

"There used to be other mountains around but I think they all eroded away or something—"

"How do you erode away a bunch of mountains?"

She looked at him with an amused look. "Your guess is as good as mine. I never bothered to look into it. They're just mountains, if I cared about them, I would be a rock type gym leader! How boring is that?"

He began to speak but she pressed her finger against his lips. "W-what?"

"I know you're gonna give me some speech were you extol the virtues of Rock Pokemon and how they're soooo overlooked and how we need to appreciate them and realize the love they need. Then I tell you to stuff it because I think Rock Pokemon are boring and that's final."

He smiled. "Pretty much."

She winked at him. "Then we can just skip that. Now let's find that old hippie."

"I see a cabin up there on a ledge, you think that's where he's at?"

"Probably."

He looked at Pitch. "Hey, go see if you can get his attention."

"Oh he can do that."

Pitch took off and flew up to the cabin, flying through an open window. What followed afterwards was a string of loud chirps and a bunch of cursing from someone inside. Pitch flew out the window, followed by a few thrown objects. The door opened and a balding man dressed in rags walked out. He noticed the two of them and looked down at them. "Is that your freaking bird that woke me up?"

"Woke you up? It's noon you idiot! How about you get off your lazy a** and—"

"I'm sorry about that sir. I asked him to get your attention but—"

"Well I didn't ask to be woken up. I was having a wonderful dream about a sexy Gothitelle who was—"

"We're not here to hear about your sick fantasies!" Homika yelled.

"Well I'm not here to hear from some pineapple head freak—"

"Who are you calling a freak? I'm gonna come up there and—"

He put his hand on her shoulder and she seemed to relax, a little. "Sir, we just needed to ask you something. Could you come down real quick?"

"I can't. It's a full moon tonight and I may not be of a right mind!"

"What?"

"I'm sorry but you'll have to ask the next cycle. I may be of my right mind. Or I may have turned into a Kirlia. I…no the moon decides my fate and I can't answer to your whims!"

Either he was crazy or just faking it. "He seemed pretty coherent for a bit."

Homika took out a Pokeball. "I'm gonna get him down from that ledge. I hope he can stand a little poisonous gas!"

He looked over at her. "Now hold on. I don't think we have to go that far—"

"We don't have time for this. Team Rocket is up to no good and it's up to us to find them before their plan succeeds. We don't have time for his f***ing games!"

"I…well…try not to hurt him that badly."

She summoned a Koffing and directed him to the ledge where the man was. It soon emit large clouds of poisonous gas, causing the man to cough and gasp. "You better come down here or else that Pokemon is going to keep following you!"

The man hurried back inside but the Koffing followed him in. Soon large clouds of poisonous gas began to pour out the windows. He cursed it multiple times but soon hurried out of the house and disappeared from the ledge. Not too long after, he walked down to their level, the Koffing close behind. She called it back to her with a snap of the fingers and the man coughed and gasped until he gained his breath back. "You blasted pineapple! My beloved Pokemon was just—"

"Shut up and tell me what you know about the Team Rocket lab?"

"Team…Rocket? That sounds like a wonderful ice cream? Do you like ice cream pineapple? You look like—"

She stomped her foot. "I said Team Rocket! They're a gang of Pokemon criminals. They were all black and have a red R on their shirts!"

"They sound like splendid ice cream makers. I say, you look like a wonderful ice cream—"

"Do you know anything about…quit blathering you idiot!" She yelled, causing the man to fall backwards. She stepped forward and put her boot just between his legs. "You said you had a naughty little dream about a Gothitelle right? How about I make sure you don't get to see how that ends?"

"Pineapple—"

"If you call me pineapple once more, you're gonna learn real quick about steel toe boots!"

"S-s-stop! Don't! I'll tell you what I know! Just don't stomp—"

"Tell me! And why were you acting like this?"

The man looked downtrodden. "The lab…it's to the north of here, deep in the woods. It looks more like an old mansion to be honest, I guess that made it easier for them to conceal what they were doing."

"Well what were they doing?"

He shook his head. "Terrible, horrible experiments on Pokemon and humans alike. They were obsessed with trying to create the ultimate Pokemon, one that would crush any Pokemon it came across. They finally came up with one but one of the Pokemon broke loose and went crazy, killing a bunch of people there and Pokemon alike. I think they took the one that didn't go crazy and abandoned the lab."

"Oh…wow."

"I was a researcher there and it was just horrible what happened. I couldn't believe Giovanni would go to such lengths."

"So then why do you pretend to be crazy? If you spoke up, more people would know about it, like the authorities. I'm sure they would have loved to know this," Ethan said. He shook his head.

"No, no…if they learn, Team Rocket will find out and they'll come after me!"

"Have you ever heard of witness protection?" Homika asked.

"No, no. That won't work. Once Team Rocket unleashes their plan, the authorities will be useless. They'll be too powerful for anyone to stop."

She laughed. "Yea, right. We'll stop them. They took over the biggest cities in Kanto and Johto and they were still stopped. This is just the same thing, just a different plan."

He folded his arms but didn't bother responding. It was true that this seemed like the usual Team Rocket scheme but this was the first time he could remember them backing up their plans with a super powerful Pokemon, one no one else had seen before. And what worried him more was that they had duplicated the Mewtwo experiments and Mewtwo had went crazy and killed a bunch of people as well. What happened if they lost the reins on this one? He noticed Homika glaring at him and he smiled at her. "What?"

"Hey, back me up here! You've tangled with them before, you're practically Team Rocket enemy number one!"

"I am but I'm kind of worried about them now. It seems like they're learning from their failures and I'm not sure how we'll handle a—"

"What the f***? Oh…don't go anywhere guy, we need to talk real quick!"

"I'm…not going anywhere," he said in a weak voice. Homika nodded and grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him away. When they were a good distance away, she shoved him to the side. "What gives? Aren't you Ethan, the same guy who helped thwart their attempts at a comeback in Johto, even putting a stop to the legendary Giovanni himself?" She asked, jabbing her finger into his chest.

"Yes but—"

"Then why are you acting like such a coward? You've beaten them before and you can do it again! Shoot, if I was in your shoes, I'd be laughing my head off at them!"

"Homika, it's less about Team Rocket and more about that Pokemon they have. I'm not too worried if it comes to taking on Team Rocket, even if I don't have all my old Pokemon. I beat them usually with crazy plans that they never saw coming. It's just that one Pokemon I'm worried about."

"Yea yea I get that but—"

"They tried to create the ultimate Pokemon. If they even succeeded, we have to worry about what happens if it goes crazy like Mewtwo did."

"Ethan, there are plenty of strong trainers around. Including the various Pokemon League Champions. You don't think that with their help, we could stop it?"

She had a point there. He rubbed the back of his head. "Haha, yea I see your point. Sorry about that."

She seemed to relax. "Good, you had me real worried there for a second."

Pitch let out a surprised chirp and he couldn't help but agree with him. "Worried? Worried? I really don't expect that coming from you. You have even more confidence than I do—"

"You don't…you know, I'm not really all that confident."

"Of course you are—"

"Ethan, you don't realize how depressed I was. I was the queen of rock and roll but who could I go to when I was feeling down or depressed? No one! I just drowned my stupid sorrows in alcohol. And then you came along…and it's been sort of like a breath of fresh air. It's a lot easier to be brimming with confidence when you have someone who believes in you."

"But you have all your fans. They all believe in you—"

"That's different! And they're just fans, fanatics, and goobers. They only know me as a rock star and that's all. They don't know the real Homika, the one behind the mask."

He looked away. "Oh, I see your point."

"And I don't understand but ugh! Seeing you look all down and not confident about our chances…it fills me with a little doubt and I don't want that! I hate feeling like that! I can't force you to be more confident about our chances and all but it'd sure be better if you believe in yourself a bit more!"

He and Pitch exchanged a look. He really was getting to see a side of Homika no one else did. He did see her point in a way, even if it was a super powerful Pokemon, they had so many others that could help them out if it came to that. He smiled and laughed. "Yea, we'll stomp them out like usual. I doubt Giovanni's ego could take losing to me once more."

She nodded. "You're darn right! He won't admit it but I bet you're a big reason he came back. He really wants to get revenge on you for taking him down. His ego wouldn't be able to accept losing to you again and I want to see it happen! Now that we got that squared away, let's see if we can learn anymore from him."

"Eh, let's just narrow down where it's at and be done with it. No need to waste a lot of time interrogating him. It seems to be a touchy subject for him."

"Fine, fine. I'll try not to be so hard on him. No promises though."

She turned and began to walk away but he cleared his throat and she turned around to look at him. "Oh and thanks. It was nice to hear that from you."

She blushed a bit before looking away again. "Y-y-you be quiet! I swear, you're turning me into the biggest sap around!"

From what the guy told them, the mansion was a bit to the west of Dragonspiral Tower, off an old route that was used a long time ago but had since been abandoned and fallen into disrepair. After poking around a bit, Pitch spotted the path and they were soon on their way. First thing he noticed off the bat was how dead the forest seemed. He was used to being surrounded by Pokemon in every forest he had been but this one didn't seem to have many. Pitch flew a few feet in front and kept chirping about how there didn't seem to be any Pokemon around. "Well this is pretty weird. I wonder why the forest is like this?"

"It gives me the chills. Where are the freaking Pokemon?"

"It's weird. Like for a while we saw Pokemon around and once we hit a certain part of the trail, nothing. It's like they know something we don't and want to stay away."

Homika grumbled. "Stop trying to freak me out more."

"Hey think of it like going to a haunted house."

"I…hate haunted houses. They're stupid and…dumb. Why would I pay to get myself scared witless?"

He laughed. "I think they're kind of fun."

"Well if this is like a haunted house, I'm gonna be like those stupid girls in horror movies and just cling to your arm and hide behind your back. If you die, I'll just use your body as a shield so I can get out."

"If I die?"

She jabbed him in the side. "I was joking!"

"I know, I know but I was personally hoping you'd at least cry over my dead body before you use me like a shield."

She brushed aside her hair. "You smart a**."

Pitch flew back over to them, chirping up a storm. Ethan held out his hand to calm him down and Pitch relayed what he saw. "So the mansion is just right up ahead? Did you notice anything unusual?"

From what Pitch said, he thought he might have seen something crawling around inside but it didn't appear to be anything he was familiar with. Homika sighed. "I wonder if it's one of their unholy creations."

"A new Pokemon maybe?"

She stomped her foot. "You're excited to see a new Pokemon that could just be some twisted experiment?"

He smiled. "Maybe they are an experiment but I'm sure if they had an owner that cared for them, they would turn out all right. Look at all the Ghost Pokemon around. They all can be pretty sinister looking at times but in the hands of an owner who cares, they can be pretty good."

She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if you got rose colored glasses on or something. You spew rainbows of love, friendship and goodness almost 24/7."

"Hey!"

She leaned against him. "But that's okay. I guess even the queen of rock and roll needs to hear it every once in awhile. Just don't expect me to turn into some bubblegum pop singer or something, singing about love, and friendship and—"

"You know, you keep saying you won't become a pop singer but I think you should give it a shot."

"What? Hold up, hold up…. why are you even suggesting this?"

Pitch flew back to his shoulder. "You're popular enough, if you wanted to do an experimental album, I'm sure it would fly. You could almost do a parody of the pop genre if you wanted. If you did it that way, people would like it even more. Who would expect someone who sings about anger, hate and rage to suddenly produce an album about the exact opposite?"

She didn't answer at first and then burst into laughter. "You know, that sort of sounds like a cool idea. I could never stand all those dumb pop artists and their songs so parodying them sounds like loads of fun!"

They came across the grounds of the old mansion, a large three story building with a decaying exterior. Large vines of ivy covered the front of the building like a thick carpet, eating away at the bricks and mortar. Many of the windows were either broken or boarded up but none were in decent shape. The doors were broken off and the steps leading up to the front door were broken in many places. "All we need now is for a storm to roll in and lightning to flash behind it."

"Cute," Homika said. He looked at Pitch.

"So you didn't see any evidence of anyone living inside? Other than some creature?"

"Who would want to live in here?"

"Who knows? Just thought it'd be best to ask."

Homika took out a Pokeball. "Before we step in there, why don't we smoke whatever is hiding on the first floor out?"

"You mean with your Pokemon? That would work but what if they are part Poison too?"

"Then…"

"But send them in. If it doesn't work, I know you're Pokemon will just give up and return to us."

She nodded and summoned Koffing and Weezing to the field. She told them the plan and they soon floated into the mansion to complete the task. She folded her arms and sighed. "Really hope I'm not sending them to their doom."

Pitch let out a chirp. "Sending them to their doom? They're poison Pokemon. If they need to get away, they can just use Toxic and fly off while their victims are suffering. And you're a gym leader, you should be the last person worrying about her Pokemon."

She looked at him with an amused smile. "Why you little…haha, I love it!"

He looked at Pitch. "Hey, why don't you and Dodger take another look around in the meantime? You could help out—"

Pitch let out a chirp, letting him know that Dodger's help wasn't welcomed but he tapped him on the beak. "Ah ah ah, you need to get along. He's your teammate too!"

He let Dodger out of his ball, who was pleased as peach to be out. Pitch flew down to him and right off the bat the two were arguing. Pitch seemed convinced he could do it himself and Dodger letting him know that he didn't agree. Ethan looked over at her before stomping his foot, getting their attention. "That's enough, both of you! I don't want you two getting into an argument every time you're together. You're supposed to be part of a team! I'm not asking you to be best of friends but learn to get along. Neither of you is going anywhere so you better get used to it!"

They soon flew off and she laughed. "Are all your Pokemon like that?"

He put his hands on his hips and let out a sigh. "Nope. Wiggler was my first Pokemon and my favorite but none of the other Pokemon had an issue with him or each other. They all got along just fine. This is the first time I've had some Pokemon that hated each other."

"Well hey, at least they listen to you."

"If they listened, they would try to get along."

She tapped her chin. "To be fair, it's hard for them to get along when you only have one of them out of its ball most of the time. How else are they gonna get along if you don't have them together more often?"

"Ahhh…well yea, you got a point there."

She smiled. "So you might as well just have them both out at the same time. That way they have no choice but to get along. Like…us I suppose."

About an hour later, her Pokemon returned, along with Pitch and Dodger but sadly with nothing to report. She grumbled. "S***, whatever is in there must be immune to poison or isn't bothered by it."

Dodger quacked and he nodded at him. "Yea, we're going inside. We don't have much of a choice—"

"Uh, yea we do. It's called calling in more help."

"We'd just be wasting time."

"Ugh, I'm supposed to be the impatient one here! Look there's a gym leader in the town to the south of here. I'm sure if we could get his help."

He looked over at her with an amused look. "Where was this suggestion before? If you want to get him, you can go back. I'm going in! This could be kinda fun."

"Fun? Fun? Exploring a half destroyed mansion that might have a deranged super Pokemon inside is fun?"

"I'm not forcing you to come with me. You can stay out here. It might be safer that way because if something happens to me, you can go get help."

He walked up to the front door and grimaced a bit at the smell. Pitch landed on his shoulders and let him know how bad it smelled. Dodger didn't seem near as annoyed by it. "Alright, I'm depending on you two. If you see anything strange, let me know. In a place like this, we have to be prepared for anything."

He heard what sounded like creaking and looked around. "Huh, where is that—oof!" He said as someone shoved him from behind. He and Homika tumbled forward as part of the roof over the door fell down where he once stood. He stared at it for a bit as her Koffing and Weezing floated through the dust and then over at her. She coughed a few times and glared at him. "Augh! I wish you would be more careful!"

He laughed. "Oh, so that's what—"

"It's not funny! You could have gotten really hurt! And then what?"

"I'm sorry, I guess I should have been more careful."

She got to her feet and dusted herself off. "You're hopeless sometimes. Be glad I'm around to look out for you," she said as she offered her hand. He took it and pulled himself up.

"Oh I don't know about that but I know you're just poking fun at me."

She winked at him. "Of course."


	7. Chapter 7

The main room of the mansion was a large living room by the looks of it with a large grand staircase in the middle, which had stairs leading up to both sides of the second floor. Most of the furniture in the main room was either toppled over or just covered in a thick layer of dust. He sneezed from all the dust, causing even more of it to fly up into the air. "It's kind of stale in here. With all these broken windows, you think the air wouldn't suck so much."

He smiled. It wouldn't be Homika without her grumbling. He walked over to a nearby light switch and flipped it but nothing came on. "Drat, it's going to be tough to move around without any light in here."

"Don't you have a Raichu?"

"Rai has trouble controlling his electrical power, remember? If he tries to provide us with light, he might end up burning down half the mansion! Maybe Bolt can help—"

Before he could summon the little mite, Homika had grabbed his hand. He looked over at her and she wore a worried look on her face. "No."

"But he could really help us—"

"No."

He removed her hand from his. "Homika, I know you hate him but do you have any better solutions? Like do you have a flashlight we could use or a torch? Maybe an electric Pokemon of your own?"

"Well…no but—"

"Then we have to depend on him. I already explained that Rai wouldn't be able to do it so Bolt is next up."

She looked away, her arms folded across her chest. "Fine, fine!"

He grabbed the Pokeball holding Bolt but before he could summon him, some hot wax fell from above and landed on his hand. He cried out in pain, dropping the Pokeball. Before he could get to it, it rolled on the floor for a little before falling through some broken planks in the floor. He ran over to where it had fallen through and got down closer to the floor to get a better look. "Darn it, I'm sorry Bolt! Ugh, I can't even see where it fell!"

He looked at the hot wax on his hand and brushed it off. He went back to looking for where the Pokeball might have fell but again, it was too dark to see. He couldn't tell if it had even fallen to the floor below or if it had fallen somewhere else. He looked at Homika, who was staring up at the ceiling. "Where did that wax come from?"

"Homika, we have to go downstairs!"

"How are we going to go down there when we don't have any light to get us down there? We don't even know the layout of this dump!"

He got to his feet. "I know but we need to rescue Bolt. I don't want to leave without him!"

"And what if you can't find him?"

He looked down at the floor. "I'm gonna feel real bad about that. What kind of trainer am I if I just lost a Pokemon like that?"

"Ethan…st-stop being such a worrywart! If you think you're a bad trainer because you lost a Pokemon to a freak accident…you aren't a bad trainer, at all!"

He smiled. "I know, I just can't help but worry about my Pokemon."

She shook her head. "For someone who's accomplished so much, you sure like to worry."

He shrugged. "I guess it's something I do best. I just—"

"I know, I know how big your heart is," she said. She pursed her lips and looked down at the floor. "But really, how are we going to get down there?"

He walked past her and began to move toward a darkened hallway. He stopped at the bottom of the staircase and leaned against it. "Guess we're just going to have to explore the place for ourselves."

She groaned. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to do that."

They walked down the long and narrow hallway, mainly in silence. He didn't feel like talking, as he wanted to listen for any strange sounds or cries. They hadn't found any but he knew there had to be some Pokemon around, perhaps some new ghosts he wasn't aware of. And they still had to find any evidence of what Team Rocket was up to. The walls of the hallway were lined with portraits of various people, maybe members of Team Rocket? Each time he checked a room, he found nothing but some over turned furniture, if that. They came to the end of the hallway, where some stairs leading down led. "Finally! Now we're getting somewhere!"

"Ethan."

He looked up at her and noticed how tense she looked. She hadn't unfolded her arms one bit, had worn a frown the whole time and hadn't even let out a complaint or grumble. "What's up Homika? You can relax—"

"Relax? Relax? How am I supposed to relax? You've been completely quiet the whole time!"

"I wanted to see if I could hear anything. Can't hear anything when I'm talking a mile a minute, right? You didn't have to come along though. I know how much you hate this."

She grabbed him by the collar. "You know what happens to people who go into places like this alone? They end up dead, cationic or worse!"

"You've been watching one too many horror movies."

"So you're saying I shouldn't be concerned? That I should just go sit outside, chill and not care what happens to you? Because that's what it sounds like you're trying to say? You're in an old mansion that was wrecked pretty good by a mad Pokemon, what happens if you fall down and hurt yourself?"

He frowned. "Well Pitch is here with me—"

"And if Pitch gets hurt? Listen, I said I hated this place but if you think I'm just going to let you go in here alone, you're nuts! Got that? You're a complete idiot if you think I'm letting you explore it alone, my fear of old and abandoned places be da****!"

He looked at her for a few, a little stunned by her outburst but also feeling a bit happy that she was willing to stick with him, even going into a place like this. "Well thanks, I appreciate it."

She let go of his collar and looked away. "Besides, what am I going to do out there anyway? Sit and be bored?"

He began to walk down the stairs. "Well you could just come up with some songs for that pop album. Think up some real cheesy ones. I bet if you gave it some thought, you could—"

"I've been alone most of my life, I'm not in the mood to be left alone to my thoughts…again."

He took another step but it suddenly gave way and he tumbled down the stairs, landing flat on his back on the hard concrete. Pitch fluttered down to him with a concerned chirp but he laughed it off. "It's okay, I've taken worst falls before. It really is a wreck here."

"Duh!" Homika said from the top of the stairs. He began to get to his feet and noticed light trickling in from all above. Whatever had happened here must have been big. He could only imagine the fight that had gone down when that Pokemon had gotten loose. He got to his feet and glanced at Pitch.

"You see anything, like that Pokeball?"

Pitch shook his head and flew on ahead. Pitch had sharp eyes but in a poorly lit place like this, he'd need some help. He took out the Pokeball holding Rai but just before he could summon him, he heard some wood snap and suddenly Homika collided into him, knocking him off his feet and causing him to drop the Pokeball. He watched helplessly as it rolled for a few before dropping off into another hole into the darkness. Was there another floor beneath this one even? "Darn it, not Rai too!"

"What? What do you mean?"

He got to his feet and looked down at her. "When you bumped into me, I dropped the Pokeball with him and now it fell into a hole somewhere."

Her mouth fell open as she got to her feet. She grabbed one of her arms and looked away. "I-I'm sorry. I was clumsy…ugh. I didn't expect that stupid step to just break like that! I hate this place! Can't we just leave this dump!"?

He smiled and held a finger to her nose. "Not yet! We've got to find out what Team Rocket is up to."

"We already know that!"

"But the more we know, the better."

They heard a low growl coming from the darkness and he spun around. He tried to see where the sound was coming from but with limited lighting, it made it tough. He whistled for Pitch and the little bird flew back their way. "Good boy Pitch. Can you see where that growling sound came from?"

"Ethan, look in front of you!"

"Huh, what?" He asked. He looked down and saw a small blue four-legged Pokemon approach. It looked a bit like a small brontosaurus and even had the long beck but it had thick black fur, which covered its eyes and most of its head. It even had some thick black fur on its back too. It walked forward a bit more and roared at them. Pitch fluttered down to him and let out an angry series of chirps at it. "What is it?"

"That's a Deino, it's a dark dragon type. It's native to Unova. They can't see real well thanks to that fur on its head so they tend to be real clumsy and just bite everything."

The Deino lunged forward trying to bite Pitch but he fluttered out of the way. Pitch flew up into the air and dove at Deino, knocking him down with a single attack. The little dragon got to its feet and let out a roar in a random direction, which happened to be toward him and Homika since he couldn't see a thing. It stuck its head up into the air, probably trying to sniff Pitch out but Pitch only responded by dive bombing at him again and smacking him to the ground. "This is kind of an unfair fight. Seems like all these dragon types seem pretty wimpy as babies but when they grow up…"

"That describes it pretty well. They do grow up into being absolute terrors. I'm not sure it'd be a good Pokemon for you."

"Huh? Why not?"

She leaned against him. "Why? Deino grows up into a pretty powerful Pokemon but your strategy never seemed to revolve around having the strongest Pokemon, just whatever wacky strategy you could use to win instead."

He smiled. "Well, what's wrong with changing it up just a tad? I can still use my wacky little tactics but back it up with some pretty strong Pokemon too?"

"Well…I guess but you better reserve a spot for a Poison Pokemon! Because once we're out of this place, I'm gonna find you a Poison Pokemon. I think I even have one in mind already!"

"I haven't forgotten. I have a spot reserved for a Poison and a Steel Pokemon—"

"Yea but don't you already…"

She stopped short when they noticed the Deino walk over to him and began to sniff him. Pitch flew down next to him, casting a careful eye toward the little dragon. If he even thought about taking a nibble, Pitch would respond. "What is he doing."?

"If he bites, you should kick him."

"I don't think that's necessary Mika. He doesn't seem like he wants to bite me."

He bent down to get a better look at the dragon. It ignored him and Pitch and continued to sniff him like an over curious puppy. "Did you just call me Mika?" She asked after what seemed like an eternity.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?"

"Huh? Ahh, I-I never said that! I just didn't give you permission to give me a silly nickname like that!"

He shook his head, amused by her response. "Okay…"

"But…if it's from you, I guess I don't mind."

He shook his head again and Pitch chirped at him. He looked over at the little bird and chuckled. "Really, he wants to come along?"

The Deino looked up at him, tongue hanging out of his mouth and wagging his tail like a pleased puppy. "Well…I think it would be cool if he wants to join us—"

"What?"

He and Pitch looked at her. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. "What is it?"

"Do you know what that Pokemon is?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "You already told me, remember? You said he was a dark dragon type and that he grew up into a killer."

She let out a frustrated sigh. "You make it sound so simple but Deino grow up into a vicious three headed dragon. They are some of the meanest and nastiest Pokemon around! They get so bad that they're sometimes banned from competitions because they're so mean."

"Yea but I'm a good trainer—"

"You think that's all it takes? Being a good trainer?"

He got to his feet and faced her. "Yes. I've known plenty of Pokemon that usually have a violent nature. And they were raised by trainers who loved them, cared for them and they turned out to be great Pokemon."

She stared at him without saying anything so he turned his attention back to the little dragon. "Maybe he will have a little mean streak but I don't think you can just avoid Pokemon just because their line is known as being mean or vicious. If that were so, I'm sure they would have outlawed a bunch of Pokemon already."

"You're like a f***ing Care Bear," she said under her breath but since he was standing pretty close, he heard it loud and clear.

"And you're our lovable Grumpy Bear."

She blushed, her face turning bright red when she realized he had heard her insult him. He began to take out a Pokeball that would hold the little dragon and felt her touch his shoulder. "Ethan, I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to insult you like that. Well I mean…I did but it wasn't supposed to come out—"

"It's okay, you think I'm naïve and—"

"I do…but…I mean, I'm still getting used to how you look at things. I poke fun at someone like you because I don't understand how he or she can look at the world like that. It drives me up a wall when it seems like you're spewing messages of sunshine, rainbows, love and friendship. It's like do you really believe all of that and then I see you do so…do I have to keep babbling like a f***ing idiot or do you understand what I'm getting at?"

Pitch let out an amused chirp. "Yes, I think I do now."

"At least say you accept my apology! I'm going to feel like a jerk until then."

He laughed. "Okay, I accept it."

She sighed. "So that aside, what are you going to call him? He looks like a dog the way he acts."

He nodded as he pet him on the head. "Yea but I can't give him a dog's name. He looks like he could be called Sam. I think I'll call him that."

Some more hot wax fell near where he stood and he looked up to see where it came from. "You know, that's the second time that's happened. I think we're better off leaving this place."

"We've barely explored it."

She folded her arms. "Yea but I think I know where that wax is coming from and if this place is crawling with those Pokemon, we are better off leaving."

"What do you mean?"

"They are Ghost and fire Pokemon called Litwick and while they look like harmless candles that seem willing to help lost travelers, they actually only wish to lead you to the Ghost World."

Pitch let out a terrified chirp at that. "Ghost World?"

"Yea, the Ghost World. A place where ghosts and dead people live. The Litwick love to take you there, while they suck away at your life in the meantime."

"I think I might try catching one."

"You didn't listen to a word I just said, did you?"

"And if we catch it, maybe it could tell us more about what happened. I'm sure some of the Pokemon that were here could tell us something," he said. He looked over at Sam. "Do you know anything about what happened here?"

Sam looked around a bit and then crawled off toward the darkness. Ethan followed after him, even with the lack of light. His head bumped up against the ceiling after a while so he bent down a bit. Sam led him by a bunch of roars and growls, which had him pushing through some boxes and crates. Up ahead, he saw a crack of light, which grew a bit bigger when Sam slipped through. He crawled through the small door and found himself in an old lab. The lights flicked on and off as he got to his feet and dusted himself off. The walls of the lab were covered in blood, though he wasn't sure if it was the blood of humans or Pokemon. Many of the tables were overturned or destroyed. The machines in the back were smashed up pretty good as well. He noticed some papers on the ground and picked them up.

"This place is creepy. Let's find what we need and get out."

"I'm with you. I don't want to spend any more time than we have to."

He scanned the papers he had in hand but from what he read, there wasn't much there of interest. He put them away just to be on the safe side. He looked down and saw Sam walk over to him with some papers in his mouth. He chuckled and bent down to take them, while petting him on the head. "You're pretty helpful, aren't you?"

"He's such a dork. Just like his owner."

"H-hey!"

"That wasn't an insult you know? It probably sounds like an insult but it's not."

He shook his head and looked over the papers Sam had brought over. They had a picture of a huge dragon like Pokemon. It wasn't in color but from the notes on the paper, it looked to be primarily blue. It had a long neck and a fearsome looking face, with teeth the size of his hand. On its back were six large wings, with claws on the tip of each of them. It had a tail the size of a tree and legs that were as big as barrels. "I think we might have found something."

She walked over and he showed them to her. "So they call it…what is it called?"

"Not sure. I don't see a name for it on here. It's a water, dragon and steel type. That's a petty formidable type right there. Water and dragon are pretty strong types and steel is great for defense."

She leaned in closer to look. "So this is the ultimate Pokemon they wanted to create? It looks pretty fearsome."

He nodded. "It is. Well now we know what they created. I think. I guess we won't know until they show up with it."

"They disgust me! I can't wait until we run into those losers again, I'm gonna smash them with my electric guitar this time and you aren't going to stop me!"

He was about to say something when he thought he heard something above. He looked up at the roof. "Huh, did you hear something?"

"No. I didn't hear a thing."

He walked past her, continuing to look up at the ceiling. It sounded like the floor above was creaking like usual but it seemed to get a bit louder, like something above was about to fall through. Dust and nails began to fall down in the middle of the room and Homika suddenly grabbed him and yanked him back, just as part of the ceiling caved in. Dust filled the room and he coughed a bit and waved his hand to clear the air a bit. "Augh, what was that? I hate this stupid place! Why are we still here anyways? If we wait around any longer, this whole place will cave in on us!"

As the dust began to clear, he could see something, big, long and shiny in front of them. It moved around and he saw that it was a Steelix. As it raised its head to let out a roar, his eyes grew wide. "Rusty…what are you doing here?"

"Rusty? Who names their Steelix, Rusty? That's the stupidest name I've ever heard!"

He glared at her. "It's a cool name, what are you talking about?"

"Ethan, are you in here?" Said a familiar voice. As the dust cleared some more, he could see Jasmine walking over to them, with bit of a limp. He smiled but that soon turned into a frown when he noticed she was a bit hobbled.

"Jas—I mean Maple, what happened to you? Why are you here and did you hurt yourself when you fell through?"

She smiled at him. "Yea, I was a bit clumsy. I guess I should have kept Rusty in his ball but he wanted to be out and—"

"You idiot! You could have gotten us killed! Don't you realize how heavy a Steelix is? Or the fact that this place is one good stiff breeze from toppling over? And here you go, walking around with one of the heaviest Pokemon around like a dumb***! You must have known we would be here or otherwise you would have never shown so why were you so careless? You—"

"Hold up, calm down. It was an accident; we've already had several of those. I fell down some stairs because a step broke. I lost a couple of Pokemon because something gave way or…something!"

Homika didn't seem to have heard him because she still stared daggers in Maple's direction. "You're d*** lucky you just hurt your little ankle! It could have been much worse! You're f***ing lucky Ethan is here or else—"

"That's enough! We really don't have time for these arguments! Look, we came here to see if we could learn any more about what Team Rocket was doing and it looks like we got our answer—"

"You did?"

He looked over at Maple and smiled. "You betcha!"

"I'm surprised. I thought he was just talking nonsense. So you two were able to get the truth out of him?"

"Well it was more like Ms Bad Cop here was able to get the information out of him. I don't think I would have had as much luck," he said. "On that note, why are you here?"

"I'm so sorry but I was doing a little more detective work on Team Rocket when I overheard a rumor that some Team Rocket goons were going to ambush you in the mansion. I believe they must have talked to that man and got him to tell them about you two."

"Ambush us?"

She sighed as she sat down on Rusty's back and rubbed her ankle. "Basically they were going to bring this whole place down on you."

Homika laughed and folded her arms. "You really are an idiot. Why would they bring the place down on us? That would kill us both and I'm darn sure that Giovanni wants Ethan alive so he can defeat him himself. Why would they give up such a huge reward just to—"

"I wonder if it's just like that other Team Rocket member we battled. The one who tried to sabotage your concert? He was mainly in it for revenge."

She looked at him. "You think they'd let revenge get in the way of a huge reward?"

"Hey, it's possible. I probably ruined quite a few lives when I helped take them down. I may have earned more enemies than I realized."

"Sounds like you're believing her hook line and sinker."

He ignored her and looked over at Maple. "So when you heard that, you decided to check it out."

"Yes and I did run into a few of them trying to set up some explosives to bring the place down. They were no match for my team and me so they ran off. Rusty smashed up their explosives and that was that. I thought about going back but I guess I was worried about you…I mean you guys so I decided to check it out."

He smiled. "Well thanks for all your help. That would have been a nasty surprise for us!"

"You're welcome. Oh and I also learned that Team Rocket planned to crash Homika's next concert with their new ultimate Pokemon."

"My concert? Why there?"

"Think of all the free publicity! It's supposed to be the biggest concert Unova has seen and I bet they would love for everyone to see their new power. It would instill a lot of fear in people and that is what they would want."

"Multiple gym leaders will be there. Maybe even some of the Elite Four. That would be the last place to try and show up! They would get trounced in no time! Why would you show up with your new toy when there are so many people around in one place who could beat you? I'm sorry but that's bull****."

She was not going to believe Maple at all or even give her a bit of credit, was she? "I know that but what if he showed up and trounced everyone? I bet that is what he's planning on."

Homika stared at the ceiling. "So what are you saying?"

Maple looked away. "That…we should cancel the concert?"

"Have you lost your f***ing mind? Cancel the biggest concert Unova has ever seen? No way! I want to be there front and center when they try to crash the party, so everyone can watch them get trounced!"

"But think about all those people that could get hurt! Not everyone has Pokemon strong enough to—"

"No."

He, Pitch and Sam exchanged hopeless looks with each other. "But—"

"I'm not canceling the concert and that's final!"

"Homika, it might be—"

She turned and glared at him. "Why are you taking her side on everything? It's like everything she says is gospel truth!"

"Well some of what she says makes a lot of sense—"

"Sense? Sense?"

"Homika, just calm down. We can discuss—"

"We aren't discussing anything! She's basically giving off her crack theories—"

"Crack theories? Now hold on Homika! She's been helping us out every step of the way. She's just as focused as we are about stopping Team Rocket. We wouldn't be where we are if it wasn't for—"

She poked a finger in his face. "Just like I said! You've pretty much taken her side on everything and won't even let me present my case!"

"Well you haven't exactly let her state everything before you interrupt—"

"Shut up! Like I said, I see how it is. If you guys love each other so much, why don't you two just sodder off and work together! See if I care!"

"Now hold on just a min—"

"Just leave me alone! I don't even want to see you at my concert!"

That went well. After she had left, he sat down on an overturned table and looked over the papers a little more. "Well…that went about as well as I thought."

"Ethan I'm sorry—"

"Please don't apologize," he said. He got up. "No use staying here, right? We need to get out of here and get ready for Team Rocket, whenever they show up."

"But she told you not to show up to the concert!"

He, Pitch and Sam shared a look before he laughed. "I don't care how angry she gets. If Team Rocket is going to show up, we have to be ready for them. And now that we might know what kind of Pokemon it is, that will help us out."

She got on her feet and winced as she tried to walk. "Ouch, I guess I should have been more careful. We'll have to ride on Rusty to get out of here."

"Wait, I want to see if I can find my Pokemon. I lost a couple of them in here and I want to see if I can find them."

"I'll help," she said before laughing a bit. "Or I'll limp around and give you moral support. What Pokemon did you lose?"

"Rai and Bolt. Bolt is a new one. He's a Joltik I caught."

She smiled and looked over at Pitch. "So is this cute bird you're new sidekick until you find Wiggler again?"

He pet Pitch's head. "Yea, Pitch. He's a bit braver than Wiggler but I'm not sure he knows his limits. And this is Sam, we just met but he wanted to tag along so I figured, why not? Then there's Dodger. He and Pitch don't get along very well. Oh yea and I did end up catching a steel Pokemon, just for you! I…just need to use him."

"You didn't have to do that but I'm glad you did."

Even with Sam's sharp nose, after a couple of hours, they still didn't find the Pokeballs with Rai and Bolt. He sat down atop a box and shook his head. "I can't believe I lost them. That was so careless."

"It was an accident. You already told me how it happened. It doesn't make you a bad trainer because of that."

He smiled. "I know, I know. I just feel so responsible for them. Especially Rai, he's the only Pokemon I have from my original party. I still haven't been able to find the others."

Maple nodded. "They'll be fine, I know it. And you've already got a pretty good group already. You just need two more and you'll be set!"

She suddenly cried out and he looked over at her. She wiped off some hot wax from her hand and he frowned. "Again? She was right, we are being followed."

"Followed? Followed by what?"

He looked up at the ceiling. "A Pokemon called Litwick. It looks like a candle and lives in places like this. Homika said it appears to help lost travelers but only intends to lead them into the Ghost World."

"It almost sounds like a crazy ghost story."

He looked at Pitch. "Hey, go check up there and see if you can find our little stalker."

Sam let out a little roar and suddenly fired off a small fireball at the ceiling above their heads. It burned away some of the floor and something floated down to the ground. It was in fact a small chubby little candle. It had a small purple flame atop its head and some of the wax covered part of its face, with only a single yellow eye peering at them. Pitch chirped angrily in its direction as he bent down to it. "So this is it?"

"So you're the one who's been following us."

"Uh, Ethan. Umm, we've got company."

He looked up and saw a whole army of Litwick floating above the hole Sam had made in the ceiling. This was gonna be fun. "Good think we have your steel Pokemon with us."

"Yea but aren't they part fire?"

"And Dodger is part water. And Pitch is a normal Pokemon so their ghost attacks can't work on him. And Sam is part dark."

She nodded. Several of the Litwick floated down closer to them and began to cast fireballs down on Rusty, who had positioned himself between them and the army of Litwick like a barrier. He let out a roar as the fireballs pelted his steel hide and she looked over at Ethan. He took out the Pokeball holding Dodger and summoned him. "Dodger, get those little ghosts off Rusty!"

Dodger let out an overjoyed quack and took to the skies. He pelted the little ghosts with water and each time he knocked out a flame, a Litwick vanished. Too bad for each one that disappeared, another one appeared in its place. Pitch took to the skies as well, avoiding their fireballs and hitting them with his signature dive bomb attack. Sam was forced to watch and he seemed pretty annoyed by it. "How many of these little ghosts are there?"

"This mansion must have been full of them! It's getting pretty annoying."

"Yes but I've noticed…that quite a few of them are just hanging back and not attacking. What's up with that?"

He watched for a bit and noticed what she was talking about. There was about ten or fifteen of Litwick hanging in the back not even trying to attack but just floating there. He then began to notice feeling a little fatigued. He yawned and then remembered what Homika had said about them. "I think I know."

"What? What is it?"

"Homika told me that they like to suck the life energy out of people—"

"They what?"

"I guess that's another way of dragging us into the Ghost World."

She yawned. "Now I'm feeling a bit tired. We've got to end this soon or else we're in big trouble!"

He heard a little roar and noticed Sam had crawled onto Rusty and had crawled all the way up to his head. He jumped high into the air and bit down on one of the Litwick, taking it to the ground with him. When he was satisfied that he had done enough damage, he crawled back up onto Rusty and went for another Litwick. Maple took out another Pokeball and summoned Empoleon. The penguin turned his attention to the army of ghosts and began to spray them down with bursts of water. Between him and Dodger, they began to thin out the crowd of ghosts quite a bit.

It took a bit longer than he would have liked but they soon turned back the army of Litwick. Only one Litwick remained, probably the one that had been following them all this time. He couldn't really tell since he was finding it a bit tough to keep his eyes open. He slumped against a wall and sat down. "Well…that was fun. Good job guys, you did a great job."

She slumped down next to him and yawned. "Now…what? I'm exhausted and so is poor Rusty. He can't get us out of here. And what about if they come back?"

He yawned and looked over at his trio. Neither of them looked all that tired, especially Dodger. "Hey will you guys keep watch until we wake up?"

"Fall asleep here?"

He laughed. "You have any better ideas? Otherwise we might trip and fall somewhere because we're half awake."

"Well…I guess I don't. I really don't want to be splashed in the face with ice cold water so I suppose we can just take a little nap," she said as she yawned and rested her head on his shoulder.

The next time he woke up, they were outside of the mansion. He stretched out his arms and yawned. He felt something cold against his back and turned to see Rusty lying behind them. He looked over at Maple, who was still asleep. He got to his feet and noticed his three Pokemon nearby, all fast asleep. He walked over to them but Pitch awoke as he approached and as soon as he saw him walking about, he flew up to his shoulder and took his usual perch. He pet him on the head and Pitch let out a happy chirp, waking up the other two as well. Pitch let him know that while a few more Litwick had come around, they were able to chase them off with ease. Sam let out a happy roar, eager for another fight but that would have to wait. "Well good job you guys. And thank you Pitch and Dodger for not trying to kill each other while I was in dreamland."

He turned and saw Maple awake. "Oh…Ethan, wait, what are we doing out here?"

Rusty let out a roar and she laughed. "I guess he must have recovered and got us out of there. I don't mind, that place gives me the creeps."

"Guess that's the last time you decide to explore an abandoned building, right?"

He folded his arms. "Nah but I'm going to avoid them if I know Litwick are going to be there. I much prefer other ghosts compared to them."

"You've never had a ghost on your team before, have you?"

He shook his head. "I've always wanted to have a Gengar. Maybe someday I will. Don't think there's any room on my team for one now. I got Pitch, Dodger, Sam and that Escavalier that I need to use. Then I need to save a spot for a poison Pokemon and then…hmmm."

Pitch let out a terrified chirp and he looked up to see a single Litwick appear on Rusty's back near Maple. She noticed it and got up in a flash and hurried over to him. The Litwick hopped off Rusty's back and floated over to them, while Rusty growled at it. "Why is he out here? He's outnumbered pretty badly."

Pitch flew down to it and the Litwick waved its tiny arms at him and seemed to be communicating…somehow. Sam and Dodger walked over, just in case the ghost candle did anything funny but it'd have to be pretty stupid to try anything. After awhile, Pitch looked up at them and chirped. "What did he say?" Maple asked.

"This Litwick was the one following us throughout the mansion…and he wants to come along too."

"Are you sure about that? What if it tries to suck away your life while you're sleeping?"

He frowned. "Yea but he'd be in his Pokeball anyway. Maybe if he promises not to cause trouble, he could tag along."

She grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. "A-are you serious? Don't you remember what just happened to us? We were almost killed by that army of ghosts. And now you're thinking about letting one into your party?"

"But from what Pitch told me, this Litwick seemed pretty lonely. He didn't even join in on the attack with the other Litwick because he didn't want to. Not all of them are bad, I'm sure under my training he'll turn out fine. Right?"

Her mouth fell open for a bit and then she smiled. "You're right. You have been a pretty good trainer. I think he'll turn out all right, only because you'll be his trainer."

"Thanks," he said. He directed his attention to Pitch. "Well I suppose he can come along. I'm gonna count on you guys to help keep him in line!"

The Litwick began to wave his arms about again and he again looked toward Pitch. This time Sam spoke up, in his own way with a series of roars and growls. Pitch was able to translate as usual and his face lit up. "Wait, he knows where those Pokeballs are? Really?"

"It could be a trick. I'm still wary of Litwick after that episode."

He laughed. "You're kind of like Homika when you say that but you've always been more of the cautious one compared to me," he said before looking back at the Litwick. "If you know where they are, can you find them for us?"

The Litwick floated up into the air and back toward the mansion. He followed it but only as far as the door to the mansion. Sure they had chased away all those Litwick but for such a big mansion, more of them could be lurking in there and he wasn't about to face them head on, again. Sam walked up the door and roared at the open doorway. Suddenly a bunch of Litwick appeared in the doorway and they both jumped back in surprise. He almost tripped and fell but felt Maple catch him from behind. "Careful, we can't have you getting hurt when we still have Team Rocket to deal with."

"You're a lot stronger than you let on," he said as he got his bearings.

She gave him a playful poke in the side. "Of course silly. Have you forgotten what gym I run?"

"How could I forget? I'm sure Rusty would crush me if I did."

She rolled her eyes. "He may look mean but he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He's very cuddly."

Pitch let out a snarky chirp and she shot him a look. Pitch looked at him with a sympathetic look but he shook his head. "Don't give me that look. You were the one who said it. I swear, you're about as bad as Wiggler."

Just thinking about Wiggler again made his shake his head and look away. He kicked at the dirt. "I shouldn't have left him there."

"You're talking about Wiggler…aren't you? Ethan, if you had stayed behind, you would have gotten captured and that's the last thing we need. Do you know what Giovanni would have done to you if he finally had you?"

"Well…"

She stomped her foot into the dirt. "Don't even think about it! I don't want to think about it. If you had been captured…"

"Oh I'm sure Homika would have gone out in a blaze…er haze of poison fury first. Maybe me and Wiggler could have escaped while everyone was trying to recover—"

"Who cares about her?" Maple asked under her breath.

"Huh?"

She smiled at him. "Nothing!"

Pitch began to say something but she shot him another murderous look and the little bird went silent. That made him even more a bit curious as to what she said but something told him he was probably better off not knowing. The look on Pitch's face didn't help matters.

"So what do you think about—" he began to ask but Pitch just shot him a look that said he should probably choose a different subject so he just let his thoughts trail off. She looked at him.

"Huh, what were you about to ask?"

"Oh, nothing really important."

She smiled. "Liar but I'm sure it was important and you'll just bring it up later."

A few minutes later, the Litwick floated out of the mansion and presented two Pokeballs. When it set them down, it accidently summoned the two occupants, Rai and Bolt. Bolt hitched a ride on Rai's back while the little Raichu scurried over to him. Just as he bent down to greet them, Rai stopped and unleashed a huge bolt of lightning off to the side, causing everyone but Ethan to jump in surprise. He reached over and pet him on the head. "Good to see you again you two! I thought I had lost you. I'm getting real sick of losing Pokemon now."

Bolt hopped off Rai's back and looked at him with a pleased expression. Maple bent down next to him and reached out to Bolt. "So this is Bolt. He's so…tiny."

"Tiny but he's strong. He helped us defeat a legendary Pokemon."

"He…what?"

Ethan laughed. "Yea, it was when Skyla, Homika and me took on Archer. He had his Houndoom and Thundurus, a legendary Pokemon from Unova. While Rai, Dodger and Pitch kept them distracted along with the other Pokemon, Rai attached himself to Thundurus and began to drain away all his electrical power. Risky strategy but it worked, Thundurus skipped town and Houndoom was already defeated so Archer had to leave."

"Wow, that's amazing."

"It's just…now what do I do? I've got seven Pokemon and I still need to make room for a Poison Pokemon. How am I gonna give them all the love and attention they need?"

He felt her put her hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her and she smiled at him. "If anyone can do it, you can."

He laughed. "Thanks. Well now that the whole crew is together, I guess we better get to Castelia City. We can't let Team Rocket get away with their plans, again."


	8. Chapter 8

[Author's note-If you're wondering how Ethan got Bolt and Rai back, please re-read the last chapter as the last few pages were added on to explain how.]

If anything reminded him of Castelia City, it had to be Goldenrod but compared to Goldenrod, Castelia was enormous. He thought Goldenrod had some tall buildings like the store or the radio tower but they were puny compared to the buildings here. He stood on the edge of the sidewalk and stared up at the buildings, jaw open. "Wow, this place is awesome! Goldenrod or Sapphire have nothing on this place!"

He inched a bit closer and felt Maple yank him back, just as a car sped past, honking at him. He looked back at her and grinned. "Please don't do that again. I'd hate to have to explain to Homika that I let you get plastered by a car."

"I'm pretty tough, I could have lived."

Pitch let out a chirp and he shot him a glare. "So that aside, where is this concert taking place?"

"Well…" he said before drifting off as he looked up at a lamppost, which had a large flier for her concert. In fact almost every lamppost, wall or building seemed to have an advertisement for it. It seemed half the people walking past them seemed to be talking about it and it began to hit him just how big of a star she was. "I know she's popular but, wow."

"It really is crazy. We don't have anyone like that in Johto. No one near as popular as her. I wonder what it's like to be so popular, it must be pretty tough."

He chuckled. "From what she's told me, it is. I couldn't do it, forget that! I'm happy where I'm at."

A couple of rabid Homika supporters walked by and he turned his cap around and tugged the bill on it a bit over his eyes. Maple looked over at him. "Why are you doing that? What are you afraid about?"

"Backlash."

"Backlash? What backlash?"

"If people find out me and Homika aren't together and she goes back to being crazy again or if she just gets into a real sour mood, guess who gets the blame?"

Maple laughed. "Do you really think people would act like that?"

"I can't be sure but never hurts to be careful, right?"

She shook her head. "Sometimes I think you worry more than I do. Please stop it. Even if everyone in the world turns against you, because you broke her heart, I'll still be here with you. Besides, didn't she dump you?"

He laughed. "Yea but what do you think everyone is going to assume?"

"Stop it. Or I'll hit you. Or rather, I'll poke you in the side again."

"It looks like that concert is all the way across town. Pitch is just a bit too small to be taking us so I guess we'll need a ride there."

"The bus system here is great. It shouldn't be too hard for us to get a ride there."

He looked over at her. "Really?"

She winked at him. "Of course. I've been here a few times and used it. You can get almost anywhere in the city with them and getting to where the concert will be."

He laughed. "We may have some trouble though. The buses might be packed with people trying to get there."

She held out a Pokeball and he and Pitch exchanged a look. "Maybe not."

"I don't get it."

She tapped it against her chin. "I'm sure with Rusty's help, we could get some room on the bus."

Pitch let out a surprised chirp but he could only smile and laugh. "You devious little—I don't think that will work but it'd be hilarious if it did. I just can't see you threatening anyone with Rusty."

She put it away. "I know. I wouldn't either but sometimes…ahh forget it. What time is the concert?"

"Not for another few hours. We got some time to get there. Even if the buses are full."

"We could get there a little early and you could try talking to Homika…if you wanted."

Pitch let out an annoyed chirp and he smiled at him. "She did break up with me. So, I guess it's on her if she wants to talk to me again."

"You seem to be taking it pretty well."

He let out a sigh. "Well…you know, maybe it just hasn't sunk in just yet. I'm not sure if she was just angry or if she really meant it."

"And if she meant it, that's her loss."

"Well—"

"I mean it. You don't have to put up with her surly attitude. If she can't be bothered to treat you any better, forget her."

"Yea but…oww!" He said as Pitch pecked him. It wasn't a real hard peck but it did leave him a little sore. "What was that for?"

"He wants you to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Besides if she wants to reject you, let her. There are plenty of other people who will treat you better, you know?"

He folded his arms. "Hmm, I suppose you're right. I'll try not to think about it."

"Good. Besides if she doesn't think you're worthwhile, I…know Team Rocket—"

"What are you babbling about? You aren't making any sense now."

She looked away and didn't answer him. He shook his head and looked over at Pitch. "Maybe Mika is right and I need more male friends," he said in a low tone. Pitch let out an amused chirp. He looked off to the side and noticed a man walking through the crowd, dressed in a large beige overcoat. It seemed a bit odd considering how warm it was out that day but it seemed there were other people who were sporting jackets or what not. Maybe it was just a style people were into here. Suddenly a breeze blew by and the guy's jacket opened up just a bit and he noticed him wearing a Team Rocket shirt underneath.

The guy looked up and noticed Ethan staring straight at him. He suddenly turned and began walking the other way. "Hey, get back here!" He said and the guy began to run. Ethan didn't even wait up for poor Maple and took off after the guy. How careless could someone be? Why did it seem everyone but the higher ups in Team Rocket were so careless? The guy darted into the street, weaving through cars but he was forced to stop at the crosswalk. Pitch flew on ahead while he sat, waiting for the signal to cross. It felt like it took hours until he got the walk sign and he rushed across.

Up ahead he could see Pitch flying up ahead, probably right behind the guy. Up ahead he could see the guy dart into the alley but Pitch sat at the entrance of the alley and waited for Ethan to catch up. By the time he did, he saw the guy at the end of the alley, trying to scale a tall metal link fence. He looked up at Pitch and flashed him a thumbs up. "Good job Pitch!"

He walked toward the guy, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"Huh?" The man said, sounding a bit surprised he had been found. Surprised enough that he lost his grip and fell to the ground. He got to his feet and stared at him. "You…how did you catch up to me? I thought I lost you!"

Ethan motioned to Pitch. "He's a Rufflet, they got sharp eyes you know. You didn't even know he was following you all this time!"

The man spat on the ground. "Ugh, I recognize you. You're that stupid trainer Giovanni is so obsessed with."

"There's a real good reason why he's obsessed with me but that's a talk for another time. What I want to know is what are you guys up to here!"

He took out another Pokeball and summoned Sam, who roared at the guy. The guy shook his head and looked at Ethan. "Am I supposed to be scared by that? He's a baby dragon."

"A baby dragon whose bite is worse than his bark. And if that's not enough, I have a Litwick who loves nothing more than draining the life out of people…"

The man slammed his fist against the fence. "What do you want?"

"Just tell me what you guys are up to! I know you're trying to crash the concert and debut Giovanni's super Pokemon—"

"Wait, how did you know that?"

Ethan smiled. "So it's true then! I'm glad to know Maple's information was correct! Man you guys need better security or something."

"Whatever you shrimp! I'm going to beat you and haul your hide back to Giovanni. I'm sure he'll be overwhelmed to see you. And I get the—"

"I've got a better idea. In fact, I'm glad I caught one of you guys. I need you to deliver a message for me."

The man shook his head. "I don't owe you anything!" He said as he took out a Pokeball. Before he could use it, Sam let loose with a small fireball that hit the guy right in the hand. He cried out in pain and dropped the Pokeball, which rolled over close to Sam. Sam smacked it with his tail and it rolled over to Ethan, who picked it up. The guy held his hand in pain and glared at Ethan. "Why you—"

"I told you not to try it. Now will you listen to my demand now?"

"What if I don't? You really aren't going to seriously hurt me."

He was right about that but he could sure pretend. "Considering you guys are trying to unleash a super Pokemon on a huge amount of people, anything that happens to you is nothing. I won't stand for you guys hurting all these people!"

"Heh."

Ethan smiled. "Yea, I guess it was a weak threat but hey at least you can let Giovanni I know about his super Pokemon."

"Oh yea?"

Ethan took out the paper. "I know that it's part water, dragon and steel. I even know what it looks like and some of its abilities. Sure you got a super Pokemon but we already know what to expect so we can be better prepared for it."

The man looked genuinely shocked, his eyes as wide as saucers. "Wait, that paper…how did you…where did you—"

"I have my ways. Just let Giovanni know that we know about what he plans to do here and he better rethink his plans."

The guy got to his feet and ran past Ethan, who didn't even bother to stop him. He heard a second set of footsteps and turned to see Maple hurry up. She bent over and gasped for air. "Ethan, why did you run off like that? I was worried!"

"Caught a member of Team Rocket. Me and Pitch chased him into this alley and I sent him off with a warning for Giovanni."

She looked up at him with a pained expression. "A warning? A threat?"

He smiled and put his hand on her shoulder. "Well sort of like a threat. I let him know that we're on to Giovanni's plans and that we even know what type of Pokemon he has and some of his abilities."

"Why would you do that."?

"Buy us some more time. I don't think we'd be ready to take them on here even if what Homika said was true. About there being multiple gym leaders here for the concert and what not. I think with some more time, we could be better prepared for his super Pokemon."

"I…that might work. It all depends on if he calls your bluff or not."

"I hope so. I'm not sure I want to confront his super Pokemon just yet. Even if my Pokemon would want to."

"So…now we wait?"

"Yep."

She stood up and nodded. "Ethan, I was thinking about it some while I was looking around for you and I think that…I should go talk with Homika."

He, Pitch and Sam shared a look. "You, talk with her? But why?"

"I think I just need to. After the concert, as long as Team Rocket doesn't attack, then I'll track her down and talk with her."

Pitch let out a chirp, echoing his thoughts that nothing good might come out of this. "Well…I don't know. Considering what she thinks about you and I can't even say the words she would use to describe you. And you aren't exactly the biggest fan of her either."

"I know and I know I'm not a big fan of hers. Considering what you've told me about how she treats you, I sort of dislike her…"

"Sort of?"

"Okay I don't like her at all but that's why I need to talk to her. Iron some things out…I guess."

Pitch let out another doubtful chirp and she smiled. "I don't know. She might end up hating you even more and I can't have that."

"If she still wants nothing to do with you, even after I have a word with her, don't you worry about it. I still have your back even if the princess of rock and roll rejects you. I hope…that counts."

"Of course it does! Why would you even ask that? If it came to having to choose between a relationship with Homika or my friendship with you, I know which way I'm going."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

The concert took place not in a stadium or arena like had expected but the large park in the middle of town known as Central Plaza. All of the roads had been sectioned off and traffic diverted but thankfully it wasn't during rush hour or else things would have really been hairy. There weren't any chairs for anyone and people just sat anywhere. Many of the nearby buildings were filled with screaming fans, so great the screams that it shook the area each time they chanted for her. They had chosen a tree to sit in but even sitting above everyone, it still felt as if they were packed in like a can of sardines. "Now I know how it is for Magikarp to be stuck in a swarm."

"It is a little tight."

"Well she wanted to be the biggest concert ever. I guess holding it here is pretty big. Man if I were she, have it in Nimbasa. I hear that's better suited for stuff like this."

Maple laughed. "It is, I've been there. They have so much stuff there like sports arenas, stadiums and even an amusement park. Castelia is where all the business is and Nimbasa is entertainment galore."

"Maybe she's trying to stir up all the stuff businessmen here! They probably live joyless lives, don't you think?"

"I think you're right! I bet they all listen to super boring music too. Like classical or opera—"

"Tell me about it. Have you actually been in those elevators? They have the worst music ever. Imagine being subjected to that all day?"

Before she could answer, the chants grew louder and louder. He looked up and saw her walk out onto the stage with her guitar. He couldn't tell if she looked excited, nervous or even mad. She had been really looking forward to it so he imagined she had to be pretty jazzed about it. "Huh, that's odd."

"What's odd?"

Maple tapped her chin. "She doesn't look all that happy. For someone who is doing the biggest and most exciting concert Unova has ever seen, she sure isn't showing it."

"Nerves."

"Maybe," Maple said.

Homika grabbed the mike and yelled into it. "Castelia, do you know what time it is?"

The crowd roared it's approval but it must have not been enough for her. Then again, he was used to this scene by now. She egged them on and on, the crowd growing louder and louder each time. Soon they were forced to cover their ears because it had grown so loud. "Man, maybe she chose it here because the sound carries so well here?"

"That's more like it! You better get ready because it's time to rock!" She screamed into the mike. She soon began to start strumming on her guitar and he looked over to Maple, who held the program in hand.

"So I'm not familiar with this song at all, what is it?"

"Umm, I believe it's called Koffing. Is that really what the name of the song is?"

He laughed. "Well she is a Poison gym leader and she has a Koffing…you see where I'm getting at, right?"

She gave him a fat lip. "People need to write a song about steel Pokemon. Is that too hard to ask?"

"Well me and Wiggler once wrote a song about that. It started off steel, steel baby. Steel steel…why are you looking at me like that?" He asked as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm not sure whether I should laugh or cry."

"Both?"

She laughed. "Don't make me shove you out of this tree!"

She looked down at the program again and turned it over. He glanced at it and noticed the back had a bunch of thanks. "Oh so that's where she thanks all the producers and band members?"

"Looks like it. That seems nice of her, to thank everyone personally and on all the programs. It just…seems odd she doesn't mention you."

"Probably still hates my guts. At least she doesn't say it on the back. I can only imagine the looks I'd get…"

"I guess…or maybe she never had any plans to mention you anyway! Don't worry about it."

The rest of the concert seemed to fly by, so fast that he found it pretty hard to remember much about it. Then again, it seemed like they spent more time talking and not paying attention to the concert. On one hand he feel a little bad but again, he was never the biggest fan of this kind of rock music. Too angry for his tastes.

"So this is the last song but…the program doesn't list it."

He laughed. "I know she was talking about writing a song. She was trying to get my help though I wasn't of much help to her since…I don't know how to write a song!"

"A song you two wrote together?"

Pitch let out an annoyed chirp. "No way! Like I said, I'm not a good songwriter. I tried to get her to listen to the rap me and Wiggler wrote but—"

"Oh Ethan, not that rap! Anything but that rap!"

He smiled. "Funny, you seemed to like it."

"I did but I thought it was only supposed to be a secret between the two of us. I don't think anyone else will get any of the references in it. They'll just think you're spouting off nonsense."

"Then it'd fit right in with all the other rap songs!" He said, causing her to laugh. He turned his attention to the song and his eyes grew wide. "Is she singing what I think she's singing about?"

"Huh, I was distracted but…"

The two of them stopped talking and listened in. It had to be the angriest song he had ever heard her sing and every single lyric seemed to be how stupid love was, how much she hated love and how she never wanted to be in love again. Pitch finally let out a chirp that echoed his thoughts. He sat back. "Either this is the greatest snarky song in all history or she's through with me."

"Well…maybe it is sarcastic. I can't believe someone would be this angry."

"It's her mo to be honest. I just thought she had grown out of that but this is the angriest I've seen her."

"But why would she be angry at you?"

"Well you know…she doesn't like you. And I was dating her. And I'm a good friend with you. And I won't stop being friends with you…I think you can connect the dots," he said as he leaned forward. He let out a sigh.

"She doesn't like the idea of me being more important as a friend?"

"I think that's it. I'm sure if you were a guy, she wouldn't mind. I guess she thinks I'd cheat on her or something."

"That's crazy!"

"That's just what I think."

"She isn't allowed to keep you all to herself. That's not fair. Besides, I'll get bored always hanging out with Erika all the time," she said as she folded her arms.

The concert ended with a huge fireworks show that went on far after she had left the stage. He didn't bother to wait for it to end, hopping down from the tree and making his way through the crowd. In the back behind the stage, he could see several trailers, including Homika's own trailer. Maple walked past him and stopped him in his tracks. "Hold on! Didn't I say I was going to talk to her?"

"Yea but—"

"No buts. I'll handle it, trust me."

He and Pitch exchanged a doubtful look but in the end, he let out a sigh. "Okay, okay. I'll let you handle. Pitch and me are…going to go hang out at the harbor. I want to check out some of the ships coming in."

She sat down on the steps to her trailer and looked down at the guitar on her lap. She reached down, stroking the strings with her fingers. "Hey Homika!"

She looked up and noticed some stupid Goobers, dressed to the nine in gear bearing her likeness or whatever. Did they even realize how stupid they looked? She just gave them a look. "What is it?"

"That was the absolute bestest concert ever! You really killed it out there. And your last song…it really spoke to me."

"Oh?" She asked even though she really didn't want to hear. He nodded.

"Yea, all that stuff about love being stupid and useless. How it makes you really dumb and stuff, I know what you're talking about! You spend so much time trying to find someone who will treat you right that you miss out on all the other stuff in life!"

"Other stuff."

"Man I hope that b****** didn't hurt you or something. It's not right that the princess of rock has to put up with that crap."

"Heh, why do you think he isn't around?"

"I don't know. I think I saw him hanging out with some girl during the concert—"

He didn't finish as she threw the guitar on the ground, breaking it into several pieces and causing the fans to jump back. "Don't even mention that b****! Just thinking about her…"

The goobers decided it was best to make a quick exit and she grabbed a bottle of rum, which sat underneath the steps. It was pretty full but in a few seconds, it wouldn't be for long. She shook her fist as she thought about Ethan hanging out with Maple. "Whatever, I'm done with him anyways. They can act like a pair of lovebirds for all I care."

Suddenly someone reached over and took it away before she could drink it. She got to her feet at once to see who would pull that stunt and of all people, it had to be her. Maple turned the bottle over and dumped it onto the ground, each passing second causing the rage to swell up in her. It wasn't enough that she had cheated with Ethan on her but now she was trying to ruin what solace she had left? "This stuff is disgusting. Why put it in your—"

"You've got a lot of guts coming back here. If you don't leave right now, I'm calling the security and having them haul you're a** out of here. I should have forbid them from letting you even into the concert. You and him!"

Maple's eyes grew wide. "But…man Ethan was right."

"I said get out of here!"

"Homika, I wanted to talk to you—yah!" She cried out as she was forced to duck as she flung part of her guitar in her direction. She grabbed her phone.

"I am going to call security and throw you out."

Maple snatched the phone away. She was really cruising for a beat down. "Would you at least listen to me?"

"What's there to listen about? I'm not here to hear you and his sappy little love story—"

"But we aren't in love! We're friends, really close friends."

"In love."

"But—"

"Like I said, you're in love with each other. And you went behind my back too. Well good, go off and be all lovey dovey with each other! See if I care."

Maple put her hands on her hips. "Well you do. Otherwise, why else would you have written that song?"

She slammed her foot on the steps. What did this stupid b**** know? She was just rubbing her victory in her face and being so smug about it! "Shows what you know."

Maple rolled her eyes and suddenly raised her voice. "Okay fine! You want to know the truth, the real truth? I do love him more than just a friend—"

"And I bet he feels the same way."

She sighed. "He does but he was happy with you! He keeps talking about you, telling me about the things you two did together and how you seemed to be mellowing—"

"And I bet he told you all the bad stuff too."

"Yes, he did. That's what close friends do! They talk with each other about stuff like that! I was honored that he was comfortable enough to talk with me about it! And if I had any love troubles, I'm sure he would hear me out. Maybe he couldn't offer any advice but he would listen."

"Close friends? What garbage are you talking about?"

"Friends!"

"Then go be friends with him and leave me alone! I'm not interested in him when you're hanging around. And since it seems like a two for one deal, I'm not interested!"

"So what if I decided to step away?"

Her eyes grew wide. "Huh, what?"

Maple shrugged. "What if I just stopped being friends with him? Just dropped out of his life?"

That would be nice, really nice but...then what? "You know what'd happened! He'd be mopey and depressed and sad that he didn't have his little friend around any more!"

"And he's a bit mopey and depressed now because of what you did—"

"What I did? What I did? What did I do?"

"You know exactly what you did! You accused him of cheating and then just broke up with him. Just like that! You didn't even let him defend himself!"

She looked away. She wanted to tell her to shove it but she sort of had a…tiny point. "Well maybe but—"

"He treated you with respect and patience and you reward his behavior by accusing him of this and that! Why were you so eager to push him away?"

She slumped to the ground as a sick feeling grew in her stomach. "Because…I hate myself sometimes. What do I have? I'm just a selfish little rock star. I got nothing. I feed off the crowd, their cheers but once the concert is over, then what? Nothing. Nothing but a cold and soulless b****. And then I look at him. He isn't insanely popular like me, he's not super talented and yet it seems like he has everything together. People don't like him because of what he does, they like him because of what he is. He's always has that dopey smile on his face like nothing seems to faze him. And I feel guilty for being around him. The queen of rock and roll doesn't feel worthy to be around a simple guy…how bad is that?"

"If you feel so guilty, why don't you treat him better?"

"Treat him better? How am I supposed to do that? I guess I know a little but…I don't know! Why are you even asking me this? Don't you know how to treat him better? Just confess how you feel to him and be done with it!"

She sighed. "You don't know how hard I want to do that."

"See?"

She looked back at her with a piercing glance. She could only look away from her. For such a nice girl, she sure could turn tough in a flash. "And he was pretty happy with you. At least when you treated him well. He told me you pushed the limits of his patience more than once."

Her heart fell at the mention of that. Great, now she felt sick and felt like someone had ripped her heart out. "Thanks, that makes me feel much better."

"It's not too late you know."

"I'm sure I've already had three strikes. Several times over. It's over, we're finished, pull the curtain, the show's over."

"That's what you keep telling yourself."

"I already told you…Maple, that I don't know how to treat him right! You do, I don't. Connect the dots. Just leave me alone! I don't want to talk about it. Don't even talk to me about him anymore!"

"But—"

"Just leave me the f*** alone! I just want to be left alone!" She yelled, having lost any motivation to throw stuff at her. She didn't deserve it anymore. Maple let out a sigh.

"Okay, fine. I'll leave you alone. I'm sorry for bothering you."

She looked down at the ground. Was she really telling the truth? How could that idiot miss her? Was he really that dumb? And then she began to catch herself. "Why am I thinking of him like an idiot…I'm the idiot. He doesn't deserve to be called anything mean."

The sick feeling in her stomach grew and she sudden turned to the side and threw up. She sat hunched over a bit before turning away, repulsed by the smell. She grabbed a towel nearby and wiped her mouth before tossing it away. "Pathetic, that's exactly what I am. I can't go back to him. I should just—"

Before she could finish, a wind blew a paper into her face. She ripped it off and was about to tear it up out of anger when she noticed it was a program with the lyrics to the last song written down on. "Love is stupid, the most stupidest emotion in the world. Who needs love? Who needs friends F*** all of them…I…" She pulled the paper further away from her face. "D-d-did I really write this? I…couldn't have…it's too crazy, too stupid…no I did write this. I wrote it all but…it is stupid! It doesn't make sense!"

She ripped it in two and then ripped it up some more. Soon it was nothing more than small shreds of paper, which she let blow away into the wind. "Maybe…she was right. I can't believe I'm saying this! Why am I going to do this?"

She jumped to her feet and stormed out from behind the stage. Workers all around were cleaning up the trash and taking down the stage. She glanced over at one of the security guards who was helping a Machoke move some open crates and hurried over. "Hey! Did you see some brown haired girl walk by?"

"Huh? Oh yea, she left a few minutes ago. I think she was headed toward Main stre—"

She didn't even let him finish as she took off toward Main Street. Hopefully that silly girl had decided to walk. If she didn't catch up with her, trying to find her or Ethan in this f***ing city was going to take forever. She ran into the street, just as several cars came to a sudden stop, blaring their horns at her. At first, but when they saw who it was, they poked their heads out and began to sing their praises to her. She felt like telling them to shut up but just smiled at them, waved and kept going. She reached Main Street and just as she turned the corner, she slammed into someone, knocking the person forward.

"H-hey!" She said. The girl turned and she saw it was Maple. "Ahh, Homika! What are you doing out here?"

She bent over gasping for air before she looked up back at her. "Where is he?"

She tried to play dumb and gave her a goofy smile. "Him?"

"Don't f—don't play around with me Maple. Just…can you please tell me where he is?"

She looked dumbfounded for a minute. What, was it that surprising that she knew how to say please? Then again…maybe it was a bit surprising. Maple soon recovered and smiled. "He's down at the harbor. He said he wanted to watch some of the ships come in."

"Watch the ships come in? Oh never mind, it's just the kind of thing he would enjoy. Okay, thanks."

"Ah um, you're welcome."

She jabbed a finger in her direction. "Oh and you better not go anywhere. I'm going to need some pointers from you on this…treating him respect kind of thing. Or whatever, I'm just bad at it okay?"

Maple gave her a warm smile. She was just like him in a lot of ways. "Of course. I hope it all goes well."

"Man, you're just like him, it's almost sickening. How can you two be so alike?"

"W-w-well he's a bit more of an extrovert compared to me and ah…well you know, birds of a feather flock together?"

"Cute. Just try and not be so sunshine, rainbows and puppy dogs around me."

"We'll try to tone it down. A little."

She turned away. "I'm joking Maple. I do that a lot."

"Would you just stop wasting time and get over there?"

She stepped back, a bit taken aback by her outburst before she laughed. "Ha-ha, I love it!

Pitch let out a yawn and looked back at him. He smiled at the little bird and pet him on the head. "Well what do you know guys? Looks like my threat worked! Team Rocket didn't crash the concert!"

Sam roared and he leaned against the railing, the salty air smacking him in the face as he did. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Yea, I think it would have been pretty cool to see Mika snap and just go after them with her guitar. You seemed kind of sad they didn't show."

Same let out another roar and he smiled. "Don't worry. You'll get plenty of chances to prove yourself. The fight is nowhere close to over. I guess the bad part is now we don't know where they'll strike next. At least before we had an idea and even a time and place and now what?"

Dodger quacked what could be considered a sigh. "Eh, don't get worried though! I'm sure we'll figure out where they'll strike next! If there's anything we do best, it's uncovering what they're up to. No matter how well they hide—"

"Is this pep rally private or can anyone join?"

Pitch let out a super loud chirp and the others could only voice their shock. That really couldn't be who he thought it was, right? Nah. Wind was probably playing tricks with him. He felt Pitch peck him a little and he winced. "Hey, what's the big deal? Would you stop that! You really need to stop that!"

Just then he felt someone standing right next to him. He looked over and saw Homika standing shoulder to shoulder to him. She didn't look at him, only staring out at the sea. "How's the view?"

"Oh well it's pretty great. I've always enjoyed being in coastal towns and watching the ships come and leave. I mean in Olivine, Jasmine and…ahhh er, never mind—"

"Jasmine? How many girl…or friends that or girls do you have? It seems every time I turn around, there is another one!"

He laughed at her little outburst. "Maple is Jasmine. That's just a name she was using while she was trying to avoid Team Rocket out here and she just stuck with it for now."

Homika turned red in the face. "Oh…well, good."

"Good? I thought you hated her?"

She let out a sigh. "I did hate her. And maybe I still don't like her a lot but…well since it seems like she is your bestest best friend, or whatever that means, I guess I can live."

"H-huh?"

"You heard me. Maybe we won't be buddy buddy but since being with you means she'll be around as well…I guess the two for one is something I will learn to live with. It's for the best. If I told you to choose between me and her…"

"Yea…I would choose her. I just don't want to have to make that choice."

Homika laughed. "Good well…uh, I guess I'm getting a bit ahead of myself," she said as she turned to face him. A tear ran down one side of her face and she grimaced. "This is going to be harder than I thought. Look, I'm f***ing awful at apologies. Do you need me to sit here and talk like an idiot while I try to say I'm sorry or can we make it short and simple?"

"I hate long speeches."

She nodded. "Good, so do I. Ethan…" she said before she suddenly fell on her knees. He jumped back, more than a bit surprised by it. "I was a f***ing b**** to you and you didn't deserve any of it. You're a good guy; a very good one and you deserve much better. I may be the princess of rock and roll but so what? That gives me the license to just treat you like crap? I should have known better but I didn't. I understand why you wouldn't want to have anything to do with me anymore."

"You did break up with me."

She nodded. "You're right and I was an idiot. I didn't understand your relationship with Maple and I didn't try to. I just lashed out at you and I just want to say…I'm sorry for everything. Not just this little thing or that little thing. I f***ed up plain and simple. Would you…forgive me?"

For once, even Pitch didn't say anything. In fact he just flew off his shoulder and settled down on the railing. He didn't know what to say to be honest, what in the world had Maple said to get Homika to do this? He really had to thank her somehow. He didn't know how but he would. "Well—"

"This is going to sound really cheesy but I guess I have been around you for so long but ah…I really don't want to lose you again. My life was a lot more fun with you around. And…wow did that sound cheesy. I am becoming a sap."

"Still in your I hate love phase?"

"No. That song was stupid and I'm angry I performed it, live and at the biggest concert ever!"

"Well…I do forgive you Mika but—"

"But?"

He looked away as she got to her feet. "Well you were the one who broke up with me."

She laughed. "You're still on that, aren't you? Well fine, can we just pick up where we left off? Well let's ignore that whole argument bit."

"Sure, no probl—"

Before he could finish his thought, she suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in for a kiss straight on the lips. He didn't even get to enjoy it much because she pushed away from him and hurried over to the other side of the pier. She slammed her fists on the railing. "Augh, I can't believe I just did that! That was so cheesy! I told you I'm becoming such a sap! Now watch me turn into some pop singer and all my lyrics are going to be about love, friendship, sunshine, freaking' rainbows and all sort of crap! What kind of rock and roll star am I?"

He ignored her rant and Pitch returned to his usual spot on his shoulder. Dodger, Sam and Pitch all gave a look that asked what was going on. Pitch let out a chirp and he nodded. "Don't mind her, she goes off on those rants from time to time."

"You bet I do! It's therapeutic."

He looked over at her and she had the biggest blush on her face and didn't seem interested at all in hiding it. "But what about all those goobers? Aren't they going to see their queen—"

She gave him a light jab to the chest and grinned. "Those goobers? Hah, they'll have to live with it. If they can't—"

"Guitar to the head?"

She frowned and folded her arms. "I guess. I think I need a new threat. It seems so empty when I—hey, where's Maple? I need to talk to her!"

"I-I'm over here."

They turned to see her walk out from behind a nearby shack. She had dropped the look she had been going with and back to her regular look. She waved at them. "I'm sorry, I was eavesdropping—"

"Yea yea, whatever Jasmine. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Jasmine smiled at her. "It's okay…really—"

"No it's not! I was a jealous b****. I saw how close you two were and I didn't like it. And I wasn't interested in letting Ethan explain, I just treated you like garbage, even though you treated me with kindness. I know you probably thought about just telling me off and to leave him alone for good but…you didn't."

She blushed. "Well ahh…you are kind of right about me wanting to tell you to leave him alone but I knew it wasn't right."

Homika shrugged. "Yea well I deserved it for being the b**** of the universe. And don't you dare say it's okay!"

Jasmine nodded without saying anything. Homika brushed back her hair and folded her arms. "Okay."

"You would say that. Why did you go back to this look anyways?"

Jasmine blushed and he chuckled. Homika looked at the two of them and frowned. "Well that's…"

"Don't tell me that he was his suggestion?"

"Well no…not really. I just thought it would be nice to go back to this look and all."

"He's right, you are an awful liar. And I bet if she told you that you looked cooler with your cap forward, you'd do it, right?"

"No one is gonna tell me to turn my cap around!"

Homika stuck out her bottom lip. "You're just as bad! You two really are alike—"

"And you're going back to arguing with him again," Jasmine said with a sigh.

Homika hooked her arm under his. "Well it's just how we communicate best."


	9. Chapter 9

"So like now what?"

"What do you mean?"

Homika sighed as she stroked her fingers along the strings of the guitar. "Team Rocket! I thought they were supposed to crash the party and yet they never showed up!"

Ethan laughed. "Oh well you can blame me for that."

"You? What in the hell are you talking about? How did you stop them from attacking?"

He folded his arms. I caught a careless Team Rocket member and warned him that I knew all about their plans and even showed him a paper with the Pokemon's appearance, its abilities and what not."

She slashed her fingers across the strings. "Are you telling me that threat caused them to quake in their boots, fretting that the big bad Ethan knows what their up to?"

He shrugged. "Well not totally."

"What are you getting at?" Jasmine asked. He smiled at both of them.

"What if when he got this news, it caused him to pause and in the process, he thought of a better place to attack."

She shrugged. "Yea but now you're just over thinking things. Bad things happen when you think too much."

"I really think he got a better idea of a place to attack."

"Like?"

He smiled. "Well think about it. Where could Team Rocket strike that would really strike a chord with people. Something that would cause everyone to be struck with fear."

Homika and Jasmine shared a look. "Somewhere that would cause a wave of fear in the public. I'm drawing a blank! Could you stop being cryptic?"

"I'm sure crushing the Elite Four and the Champion—"

He was interrupted by a loud crack as Homika slammed her fist on the guitar. Why were rich people so reckless with stuff? "The Elite Four?"

Jasmine's mouth fell open. "I can see it. That would strike a wave of fear in people. If they can easily defeat the strongest trainers in the region, then people would get really scared. They might not even try to fight back."

"Well soooo what? We go to the Pokemon League and see if they show up?"

"I think we should split up," Jasmine said. "Just in case Ethan's theory isn't correct, the others can still be looking out for Team Rocket."

"I guess but who would go to the Pokemon League?"

"I can."

Homika and him looked at her. "Uh, why you?"

"Poor Ethan doesn't even have all the badges in Unova so it's not like he can enter Victory Road."

"You'd think an emergency would get them to waive that little rule…"

"No, Victory Road isn't just some annoying barrier between you and the Pokemon League. It's a test, a test to make sure you and your Pokemon are strong enough to take on the challenge that is the Elite Four and the Champion. Do you truly think that if you entered Victory Road, you could get through?"

"Wow, you can really be a harda** when you want to be! I'm impressed."

Ethan rubbed his chin and looked over at Pitch. "No, she's right."

"What? You're just going to agree, just like that? Not even a little protest?" Homika asked.

"Hey while me and my team have been in some battles, we haven't been in many. They're all still pretty green except for Rai. And if they tried to take on Victory Road so soon and lost, it might do a number on their confidence. Yes, even you Pitch."

Pitch didn't like the sound of it but he rubbed him on the head of his head and laughed. "So Jasmine goes to the Pokemon League and we go look for Team Rocket elsewhere. I guess that works for me!"

"Doesn't seem fair Jasmine has to go alone—"

"What's with this doesn't seem fair junk? She's a gym leader, right? You're selling her pretty short you know."

Homika defending Jasmine…this would take a little getting used to. Jasmine laughed. "It's okay. We seem to take turns worrying about the other, even though we don't need to."

"Still…I've got an idea," he said. He took out the Pokeball holding Rai and handed it to her. "I know you don't have a full party and since I got too many Pokemon, I think you can take care of him."

"Huh but—"

"I know you said how I have the heart to take care of all of these Pokemon but I know it'd be really tough but since you don't have a full party, you can take care of him. I know he isn't a Steel Pokemon but—"

"Ahhh…well if it's from you, I think it's fine. Thank you Ethan," she said, both of them blushing a bit. He heard Homika let out an annoyed sigh.

"You two…ugh. Why don't you give her a goodbye kiss while you're at it?"

They looked at her and said in unison, "No!"

Jasmine put the Pokeball away. "I'll take good care of him."

"Just think of it like you have Amphy with you, except Rai is a bit smaller and is prone to—"

"Amphy? Who the hell is Amphy?"

Ethan looked over at Homika. "It's the Ampharos that provides light for the lighthouse in Olivine City. Jasmine takes real good care of her."

"I've taken care of her since she was a lone Mareep."

Homika rolled her eyes and smirked. "Touching."

Jasmine ignored her and looked at him. "I guess I better get going. I'll let you two know if anything happens."

"Goodbye and good luck."

"Yea, laters," Homika said, too busy fiddling with another guitar to bother looking up. Jasmine didn't seem to mind as she smiled at him one last time and walked off. He waited until she was gone before he looked over at her.

"Still not a fan, are you?"

Homika tapped the guitar. "If you expect me to become all buddy buddy with her, sorry to burst your bubble but—"

He laughed. "I don't expect you to become like that. Just be friendly."

"I'm working on it. On another note, where are we going to look for Team Rocket? We don't have any leads like before."

He smiled. "That's simple, just get in contact with the gym leaders again. I'm sure someone has heard something or another. Got to use your connections. If we were in Johto—"

"Yea, I see your point," she said. She grabbed her phone and dialed a number. While she was doing that, he sat down in a nearby chair. Pitch flew down to the ground and began eating some of the popcorn that lay on the ground. He watched him eat and let out a sigh. Pitch looked at him, a bit confused but he waved him off.

"What's with you?"

He looked up at her and noticed she was off the phone. "Huh? Oh just thinking about Wiggler, I keep wondering if he's okay."

"That bunny will be fine and…well I guess I can't tell you to stop worrying, can I? You probably won't listen."

He laughed. "I'll try but he was around for awhile. Don't you still have the very first Pokemon you ever had?"

She looked away and set the guitar down. "N-no. Some jerks stole my Grimer from me! He was the very first Pokemon I caught, by myself and with no help from a Pokemon too! I took very good care of him, even though a lot of people hated him because he smelled bad but I liked him for who he was. That hurt when they stole him from me. I cried like a baby for days! Just thinking about it…"

She got up and kicked a nearby trashcan, causing trash to fly out of it. Pitch noticed some of the food that had fallen out and began to go after it but Ethan cleared his throat, causing him to stop in his tracks. "Don't even think about it Pitch. You might get sick from eating some of that garbage."

"Ugh, sorry. I just get so angry sometimes. I guess I should work on that."

"Whatever. I'm sorry to hear about your Grimer. You're right, I would have avoided it because they do stink but I guess there are people who like them."

"Everyone hates poison because they often stink. I though so at first and then…well I kind have identified with them. I was unloved and unwanted by people and so were they. So many of those Pokemon are abandoned by their f***ing trainers because they don't want them or realize they hate the smell and it just…Ethan you better stop me before I kick something else!"

"H-huh but—" He didn't get to finish before she sprinted over to the trash can she had kicked before and kicked it even farther, knocking it into the air a bit. She watched it take flight and crash to the ground before stomping back over. Pitch looked at him with an amused look. She sat back down and put her head in her hands.

"Well good, we need more people like you. Who can appreciate the less loved Pokemon? They all could use our love and attention."

She looked up at him. "Do you really believe that?"

He smiled. "Of course I do—"

"Please stop. I know that's how you operate but it rubs me the wrong way at times how half the words out your mouth are about love, friendship, peace and all that…stuff."

"I'll tone it down a tad."

She nodded. "Thanks. Well I did get in contact with Skyla. She said she had heard something about a potential operation near her city. She said it's cool if we come and check it out with her."

"Great, well I guess we better get going. We don't want to keep her waiting."

"Just don't stare at her when we get into town."

Pitch let out a chirp but he waved her off. "You little green eyed rock star."

In a few hours, they landed in Mistralton City, home to several large airfields. In fact he seemed like the airport took up more than half of the city itself. As they walked into town, a large cargo plane took off from a nearby runway. Pitch let out a terrified chirp and she laughed. "It's just a plane."

"Birds can get caught in the engines of planes. Maybe he saw some friends get caught in one and he gets freaked out thinking about it," he said. He pet the quaking bird on the head. "Wow, I think this is the first time I've seen him scared. It's okay Pitch, don't worry."

He noticed her staring at him. "You're…such a sap."

"Hey!"

"And I mean that in a good way! Even if Pitch could probably be taken down a notch or two."

He fired off a few angry chirps at her but she laughed. "Well—"

"Hey if you can cuddle your arrogant little parrot, you better cuddle me as well!"

"Parrot?"

"Well he can't talk but he's pretty darn talkative, you have to admit."

He couldn't argue that Pitch loved to talk. He loved to talk a lot. "I guess so but cuddle you? You'll smell like poisonous gas—"

"I have been learning to treat you better but if you say stuff like this, I'm going to wrap my hands around your neck and…never mind. I'll just jab you in the side and be done with it."

"Hey! Hey you two!" He looked up to see Skyla running toward them. She stopped a few feet short and took off the helmet she was wearing. "Awesome, you two were able to make it. Stellar!"

"Uh yea, cool. So what rumors did you find out?"

"Well from what I gathered, there might be something of an illegal operation going down in the woods, smuggling in stolen equipment, Pokemon and other stuff. I was just about to go look into it myself but since you two are here, we all can go check it out!"

"So how far into the forest are we talking about?" Ethan asked.

She was about to speak when another plane zipped by, causing Pitch to let out another scared chirp. Skyla laughed. "That poor bird. I guess he isn't a big fan of airplanes. It's okay," she said as she leaned forward and pet him on the head. He heard Homika grumble.

"Yea yea, poor bird."

Skyla looked over at her. "What do you mean? You don't like him?"

"That little bird has the biggest mouth around, always insulting people and Pokemon alike but when he shows just a tiny amount of fear, everyone is so quick to console him."

She laughed. "But that's kind of how Rufflet are. They are reckless but that's how they become tough—"

"I think he's more all bark and no bite," she said, folding her arms.

"Yea but perhaps he'll mellow out. You were a pretty prickly person, in fact you still are but you've been mellowing out quite a bit," Ethan said. She opened her mouth to respond but shut it again.

"Yea well I guess you got me there."

"Well, shall we be going?" Skyla asked.

She led them north of town and into the forests that surrounded much of the area. There was no real set path for them so he summoned Litwick, who burned away some of the limbs and plants in their way so they could get through with ease, while Dodger put out the flames to prevent them from spreading any further. Skyla remarked at his team while they moved through the woods. "You look like you've got quite the team already. Of course you got two flying Pokemon so of course it'll be a stellar team!"

"How stellar can it be without a Poison?"

Ethan laughed. "Isn't that your job to find me one?"

"Don't worry, I have a few in mind. Just try not to befriend anymore Pokemon along the way. If you do that, you'll end up with a team of over fifty Pokemon."

Pitch let out a chirp. "I'm not that good."

"Huh, what is she talking about?"

Homika sighed. "While we were exploring an old mansion, a lone Deino and this Litwick here felt compelled to join his group and he didn't even have to capture them. The Deino joined because he thought Ethan was a strong trainer and Ethan had pity on a lonely Litwick, even though he and Jasmine were almost killed by a whole slew of them!"

Skyla looked back at him. "Really?"

He shook his head. "We weren't almost killed. We were outnumbered but Jasmine's Steelix protected us while Dodger and Sam chased them off."

"Oh wow."

Homika grumbled. "Just having that Litwick around creeps me out, especially considering what they're known for."

"Yea but I think if they have the right trainer, they can be well behaved—"

"Not you too, ugh."

"But I won't dispute they're a bit dangerous. That is how they feed, by draining the life out of others. I think Lampent are even a bit worse as they like to hang out near hospitals or nursing homes and feed off the dying."

"Thanks Skyla, I really needed to hear that."

"I'm not trying to scare you but—"

"Could you two lower your voices just a tad? Pitch was trying to tell me something," he said. He looked over at the bird. "Could you repeat what you said?"

Pitch repeated his chirp and he nodded. "What is it?"

He looked over at them. "He saw something up ahead, trucks from the sound of it. Hey go fly into the air and check for us."

Pitch took to the skies, disappearing beyond the treetops. Dodger immediately took Pitch's spot on his shoulder and Skyla laughed. "They all seem to fight for your attention so much. No wonder you have wild Pokemon wanting to join you."

"He pays more attention to his Pokemon than he does his girlfriend."

"Didn't he just say you're kind of prickly? Tough to be so close to someone when they're like that."

"I'm getting better! If you think I'll suddenly become like a cuddly teddy bear, don't waste your breath."

Pitch returned to him a few minutes later. He took one look at Dodger and then took his perch on his other shoulder. "So what did you see?"

From what Pitch said, there was a large warehouse just a bit north of them but that it was covered in leaves and branches to blend it in with the rest of the woods. And that there were quite a few trucks driving in. "Well looks like that rumor is correct but we have to see if it's Team Rocket or someone else."

"Awesome! If it is Team Rocket, we can just chase them out!"

Homika laughed. "You're kidding right? There are just three of us and who knows how many of them."

He looked over at her as Dodger hopped off his shoulder. "It's not like you to be unsure of yourself. Usually you're brimming with—"

"Recklessness?"

Skyla walked on ahead and she grumbled. "Something wrong?"

She put a hand on her hips. "Sometimes I wonder how we're together. I'm a rock star but sometimes I began to think I'm not such hot stuff."

He smiled. "You're a talented guitar player, you have talent."

"And a sour attitude to match. Besides, you know what happens to musicians after a few years? They're forgotten, dropped for the next big thing! Then what will I have? Will I have to become crazy and outlandish, becoming a more bizarre person so the novelty doesn't fade?"

Pitch let out a chirp. "Pitch said you should just concentrate on your gym and I have to—"

"You don't understand. How am I going to deal with it when people don't care about me anymore? Who cares about gym leaders? They're just there for you to beat down with your Pokemon and then take their badge. Do I really have to become like you?"

"Become like me? I can't imagine you like that—but why would you try to become someone you aren't?"

"I don't want to become irrelevant. I don't want people to not care about me. Look at you, people flock to you, Pokemon love you. They even fight amongst each other for your attention!"

"Just be yourself. You don't have to be exactly like me but if you just learn to be a friend, you'll do fine."

She looked at him for a bit and shrugged. "You make it sound sooo simple."

Pitch let out another chirp and she glared at him. "Stop it Pitch."

"Ugh…I'll give this learning to be a friend thing a try," she said as she walked by him, brushing by his arm as she did. She grasped his hand just as Skyla hurried back over. She pulled away as Skyla walked over and looked away.

"Hey, what's taking you two so long? I checked it out and it is Team Rocket! Let's go chase them out!"

He smiled. "So it is them? Perfect, I've been itching to take them on again after our last fight. And I'm sure my Pokemon would like to show off a bit too."

"Stella! Come on Homika! No need to mope around. Unleash that pent up energy on them!"

"Yea, whoo," she said. Pitch chirped something at her and she suddenly snapped.

"Wait, what did you just say? You stupid f***ing bird, I'm gonna kill you!"

She grabbed at him but he flew out of her grasp and flew off toward the north with her close behind. Skyla looked over at him. "Why is she so mopey though?"

"Various reasons. Being a rock star is tough business."

They joined her at the edge of the woods, ducking behind a bush as they watched several trucks enter the warehouse, guarded by quite a few Team Rocket members. One of the trucks sat a few feet away from them, parked while the driver went over his paperwork with the guards. "So like how do we start? Do we just walk in and cause some chaos or?"

"I think we should try to cause some chaos but by being sneaky about it. Umm…Litwick, can you cloak me while I walk in?"

"You don't have a nickname for it?"

"I'll think of one later," he said. The little ghost candle nodded and he looked at Dodger. "Sorry Dodger but I'm gonna have to summon you back. I promise to let you out soon again."

He summoned the duck let back to its ball and looked at them. "So I suppose while I walk in and cause some fun, you two can come in from behind and cause some more fun."

"Hopefully this goes better than our last little trip in a Team Rocket base."

He laughed as he followed the ghost candle. They walked right by several people, who would have seen him if it wasn't for Litwick. One of the guards looked over the paperwork of a driver and handed it back to him. "Good, everything checks out."

"Glad to hear it. So do they know when they will strike next? We haven't heard anything since Giovanni cancelled the attack on the concert."

"Oh there's something supposed to be going down soon. Something big, something that will have everyone talking."

"Really?"

"Yea, at the Pokemon League."

"What?" Ethan said before he covered his mouth. The two of them looked in his direction.

"Huh, did you hear something? It sounded like it came from right over there but I don't see anything."

Ethan backed away from where he was standing and moved closer to the entrance to the warehouse. He looked at Pitch and winked at him. Pitch took off his shoulder and flew straight at the two men. They noticed him and ducked out of the way as he zipped past them. "Hey, where did that Rufflet come from? He wasn't there before and then all of a sudden, he just appeared out of nowhere!" The driver said.

"A Rufflet? Didn't the top executives say that you know who had a Rufflet?"

Ethan smiled as he summoned Sam. He moved away from his spot as Sam charged forward, letting out a roar as he did. He charged right on by the two of them and smashed headfirst into the tire of one of the trucks. One of the guards walked over to him and laughed. "A Deino? Ha, how pathetic! He can't even see where he's going."

Sam turned toward the guard and spat a fireball at him. The guy fell on his butt to avoid the fireball, cursing the dragon as he did. Sam ignored him and turned his attention back to the truck. With one good bite, he punctured the tire, causing the air to leak out. "Hey, stop him or else he's gonna ruin everything!"

Ethan covered his ears as alarms went off around him. Several more Team Rocket members ran out of the warehouse, running right by him. He took out the Pokeball for Dodger and let him out as well. Dodger took to the skies and began spraying them with water. It didn't do much as he figured but it did cause everyone to freak out a bit more. From the looks of it, this warehouse didn't have as many Team Rocket members as he thought. Perhaps everyone was at the Pokemon League, preparing for their attack there?

"Hey Team Rocket, so you b******* tried to crash my concert? How about I crash your little operation?" Homika yelled. Suddenly a Koffing floated over the top of one of the trucks. Dodger, Pitch and Sam ran for cover as it began to assault everyone with clouds of poisonous gas. He backed away as the drivers and Team Rocket members gasped for air. While they were busy with that, he entered the warehouse. It was full of large wooden crates and he could see a few had a bunch of Pokeballs in them. At least the buttons weren't lit up so he could see they were empty but why did they need so many? Were they really going to use them to capture people's Pokemon? Litwick looked back at him and he smiled. "No, keep me cloaked still. I want to take a look around."

A side door opened and Ariana strode out. She stood in the middle of the warehouse, looking out at the open door, as he stood only a foot away. She frowned and took out a phone. "Giovanni, I apologize but I'm going to be late. We're dealing with a couple of gym leaders here."

She listened in on his response and sighed. "It looks like it's Skyla and that stupid rocker b****. If that's the case, I bet Ethan's lurking around. I saw on the camera and several of the Pokemon rampaging about are his," she said. She paused for a bit and nodded. "Yea, I'm not sure if he suspects of our intentions at the Pokemon League but he's pretty smart, he probably figured it out or will eventually. Too bad it won't even matter for him."

He smiled. He almost felt like having Litwick uncloak him but with didn't feel confident about it since he wasn't sure how Litwick or Escavalier would do in a fight. Besides, what would it accomplish? Just a waste of time, they would be better off destroying all of their stuff. "Yea, that's fine. I'll just stay here and take care of this."

Then again, having one less Team Rocket exec running around, the better. She hung up and he summoned Bolt. She noticed him, just as the little mite fired off a little both of lightning. Not much compared to Rai's impressive attacks but it caused her to jump back. "A Joltik?"

"Hey Ariana, long time no see," he said. He walked to a different spot as she looked around for him.

"Huh…Ethan, where are you? I heard you but I can't see you at all. Another one of your cheap tricks?"

"Cheap tricks? C'mon Ariana, you know me better than that! Actually I was curious what are you guys' plans? I already figured you would attack the Pokemon League but it seems pretty silly to have a super Pokemon and use it to just conquer the Pokemon League."

She laughed. "Come on Ethan, you really think I'm going to tell you that?"

"Not even I ask nicely?"

She sighed. "Such a waste of talent though."

"Huh?"

She folded her arms and laughed. "Look at you, what have you really accomplished? You stopped us and then what?"

"Stopping Team Rocket seems like a pretty big accomplishment all by itself."

"And yet hardly anyone remembers you for it."

He frowned. "Why does that matter? I still stopped you guys, didn't I? Who cares if I didn't get much recognition for it?"

She tapped her chin. "Doesn't it bother you how little people seem to recognize your accomplishments? Helped defeat Team Rocket, one of a handful of people who owns all the badges of Kanto and Johto and could be considered the second best trainer behind the Champion. And what do you get for it? Nothing."

He shook his head. "Nothing? What about all the friends I made—"

"That's all you got? Friends? Did you really set out on your journey to become a friend to every living thing? Or to become the Pokemon Champion, to became famous throughout the land, commanding respect from everyone? Instead, hardly anyone remembers what you did, random trainers treat you like your normal everyday trainer and you're known as the guy who always finishes in second or third. Good enough but just not that good."

"Are you getting somewhere with this?"

She smiled and he had a feeling he knew what was coming. "Would you be surprised to know that we have bigger and better aspirations that conquering the Pokemon League?"

"Yea! Like taking over the world!"

She sighed and looked to the side. "Typical response."

"What, isn't that what you guys are going to do?"

"Saying we're just taking over the world is so simple minded. While we do have aspirations of world rule, it's for more than just power. Haven't you noticed all these gangs that keep popping up in regions throughout the world, like Team Galactic in Sinnoh, Team Magma and Aqua in Hoehn? And how the authorities are so useless in dealing with them?"

"Well—"

"Exactly. Everyone pretty much depends on a hotshot young trainer to deal with them. Even the gym leaders are pretty useless in this regard. I wasn't with them at the time but Team Rocket was largely thwarted in Kanto by one young trainer. No one else really bothered to help. Don't you find that a bit strange?"

"Well I guess it's a bit weird—"

"It's terrible. Why do we have to depend on some kid to restore order? That's why we must take over, we can restore some order to this world, snuff out all those troublemakers so everyone can live in peace."

Was she serious? Or was this just some stupid trick? Had to be a stupid trick. Team Rocket had never had any aspirations but to exploit Pokemon to gain wealth and power. If they had some other motives, he would've known about it. "You really expect me to believe that?"

"Of course not because you've been obsessed with defeating us first and asking questions later, if at all. Perhaps if you stopped to think about it, you might see the light."

"Errr…what?"

She flicked a card in his direction. "Pay us a visit once we've taken over the Pokemon League and you can see for yourself. You'd be a great asset to our team."

"Are you going to saying that to all the prisoners when we throw you in jail?"

She laughed. "Arrest me, I won't be in there for long. It's not like they'll find anything of use or value here."

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

She smiled and motioned to the crates. "Check out that crate of Pokeballs."

He walked over, while keeping an eye on her but she didn't seem interested in leaving. He glanced at Litwick and set him down, causing himself to become visible. He opened the crate and grabbed one of the Pokeballs and his eyes grew wide as he realized it was a felt toy. "Hey! So what was the point of this warehouse? Was it just a distraction?"

She smiled and shrugged. He tossed the ball back in and looked over at her. "I can't say."

He took out his phone. "Yea well tell it to the authorities."

Before he could get very far, someone snatched the phone away from him and he looked over to see Homika standing next to him. She glared at him and he smiled. "Follow me!"

"What but what about—"

"Skyla will deal with her. We already dealt with those clowns outside but we need to talk!"

She dragged him out of the warehouse, with Litwick and Bolt close behind. Outside, Pitch and friends were watching over the captured drivers and guards, along with Skyla. "Oh hey Skyla—"

"Skyla, go inside and keep an eye on that Team Rocket b****! I got to yell at Ethan."

She dragged him past the trucks and into the woods a bit before she flung him forward. Again she was much stronger than she let on. He stumbled forward a few before turning around. "Hey, you could have asked me to come—"

"No!" She yelled, stomping her foot and sending a flock of birds flying off. "You two didn't notice me but I was hanging out in the warehouse, listening in on your conversation."

"W-what, you were? But why?"

She smirked. "Between your little sneak attack and our great skill, they folded like cheap paper so I had time to kill. I went inside and heard you two talking."

"Oh—"

"Are you an idiot? Why are you listening to her? All she's doing is feeding you lies! Lies, lies lies! And you were just taking it hook line and sinker!"

"I wasn't taking it hook line and sinker! I didn't really believe her—"

"I couldn't see you but in the tone of your voice, you were beginning to doubt yourself. You were beginning to think that maybe, maybe she wasn't saying bull****. How can you believe it?"

He looked at the ground and laughed. "Well I was just thinking about what she said and—"

"How, how can you believe what she said? She's a criminal! You're going to sympathize with people who tried to take over a radio tower so they could use the signal to control Pokemon? Don't you remember how their signals were forcing Pokemon to evolve before they usually would? How they—argh!" She said. She walked forward and punched him in the shoulder.

"Oww…okay but—"

"No buts about it! How could you think of believing that after all they've done?"

As the pain in his shoulder subsided, he remembered everything she had said and what they had done. If they had such noble means, why were they so willing to do such terrible things to get there? Even though, why was he still interested in hearing their pitch? Was he really that naïve? "Ahhh, I see your point."

"Do you?"

He looked up at her and smiled. "Yea, I guess I just wasn't thinking. Thanks for getting my head straight."

She took a deep breath and let it out. "Good, I'm glad to hear it. I can't imagine you being part of Team Rocket anyway. It's a horrible look for you!"

"A horrible look?"

She walked over to him and jabbed him in the side. "Yes! Besides, I don't want to have to battle my boyfriend in a Pokemon battle! Talk about a conflict of interest, a gym leader with a boyfriend who is a high ranking executive in Team Rocket!"

"Well thanks for talking some sense into me."

She smiled at him. "So now what? Should we head to the Pokemon League?"

"Should we? Between Jasmine, the Elite Four and the Champion, that should be more than enough to deal with his super Pokemon, especially since we know what it is. Still something bugs me."

"What?"

"Some of that stuff in the warehouse is useless. It seems like it was some sort of distraction but for what?"

Homika frowned. "You mean like how that one guy distracted us so they could get away? If so, then what are they—"

"Guys, guys!" Skyla yelled as she ran up to them. She had a phone in her hand and had a look of surprise on her face. "I just got a call from someone in Mistralton, Team Rocket attacked the airport and has taken out several of the planes and even the control tower!"

"Oh…wow. That's what they wanted to do."

"I'm gonna choke that—"

"It's useless Homika. They did what they wanted to do. We can only help out for now."

Skyla sighed. "I have to get back over there!" She said before hurrying off. Ethan folded his arms.

"So what about Ariana and—"

"Let's leave them. Who cares about them? We took their bait and fell for it."

Pitch flew over to his shoulder and took his usual perch. "Huh? You don't want to smack them with your guitar? No violence, just let them go?"

She shrugged. "I would love to smash them with my guitar but…ahh who cares? We fell for their plan again, that ticks me off more. Smashing them with the guitar won't make this sick feeling in my stomach go away."

She began to follow after Skyla and he looked at Pitch. "Wow, she really is going soft, isn't she Pitch?"

"I'm not going soft! Not by a long shot! You'll see how mean and rough I can be!"

Back in Mistralton City, sirens filled the air as fire trucks lined the runway of the airport, putting out fires in several airplanes. Skyla was nowhere to be seen but she was probably just in the airport, getting information or helping out. He and Homika split up, he opted to go to the control tower while she went to the runway. Up in the cab, he found Skyla looking over the computers, half of which had been smashed to bits. It looked like someone had just taken a hammer to it, or had a Machamp go nuts. She looked down at the computers and slammed her fist on it. "How could they do this? Why would they do this?"

"Skyla?"

She looked over at him, trying to force a smile. "Oh hey Ethan. I was just looking over everything. They did such a number on the place. What are we going to do?"

"Do but—"

"We need all these computers for the planes! This airport was like essential to the economy here, it was like our lifeline! It was the thing we had going for us and they just…just ripped the rug out from under our feet!"

He and Pitch looked at each other. Wasn't she a gym leader for flying types? "But Skyla—"

"It's going to kill this city—"

"Skyla!"

"Huh?" She said, looking over at him. He folded his arms.

"Are you or are you not the gym leader of flying types?"

"Yea but—"

"You still have a few planes, right? You can survive, plus there are so many flying Pokemon you could use to help out until the city gets back on their feet. How do you think people transported stuff by air before they had airplanes?"

Her mouth fell open before she turned away and started to laugh. "Oh wow, you are so right. Like how could I forget who I am? You are so right! We can recover, they didn't destroy everything."

"Of course you can. They wanted you to get discouraged by this. It probably wasn't just a strike to hurt the city physically but mentally. If you're already defeated in your mind, you won't bother to fight back against them. And we could use all the help we get, especially if they get far in their plan."

She frowned at him. "You really think their plan will get very far?"

"I don't know. I sent Jasmine over to the Pokemon League to intercept them because that's where they planned to attack next and while they should be able to handle themselves, I'm not sure how they'll fare against this so called Super Pokemon. No one has ever fought against it before. Still, between her, the Elite Four and the Champion, that should be more than enough."

She laughed. "You're right, it should be enough but who knows? Didn't you say it was Water, Dragon and Steel? That pretty much renders three of the Elite Four useless as they use Psychic, Ghost and Dark Pokemon. Then you have the Champion Iris who uses Dragons and Marshall who uses Fighting types."

He frowned. "And Jasmine uses Steel, though she does have a Raichu with her. It'll be tough. I kind of wish I was there to help."

Skyla laughed again and Pitch let out an angry chirp. "Sorry Ethan but I think this is a little out of your league!"

"W-what do you mean?"

"You don't have any evolved Pokemon at all. You've only had them all for a short time. The Elite Four and the Champion have had their Pokemon for much longer than you have and they have been training for a while. Now I don't mean that as an insult! If you had like your stellar first team, then I'm sure you would be able to help but not with the Pokemon you have now."

He folded his arms. "Yea but—"

She put a hand on his shoulder and winked at him. "I think though with some more training, your party can be just as formidable as your first one!"

His phone rang and he glanced at it, noticing Jasmine was calling him. "Sorry, I need to step out for a bit."

"No problem!"

Once outside, he called Jasmine back. She didn't take very long to answer. "Oh thanks for calling me back Ethan."

"So what happened? Or has anything happened?"

There was a bit of a pause and he could hear defeat in her voice as she spoke up again. "Well Team Rocket showed up, including Giovanni and his monstrous dragon Pokemon. It wasn't just him but a whole army of Team Rocket by the looks of it."

"And I guess you guys didn't do too so hot."

"Well before the others showed up, me and Marshal were doing a decent job at battling Giovanni's Pokemon. It was very powerful but between his fighters and Rai, we were holding our own. And then the rest of Team Rocket showed up and then it was like Giovanni did something or another because the dragon become twice as strong and just blew us away. It pretty much defeated us all with ease when he decided it was time to stop playing around."

"I'm sorry."

"I haven't been defeated that badly since…since you took me on in a gym battle—"

"Now it wasn't that bad! Besides, I was just trying to impress you…but besides that, how are you?"

"Oh I'm fine. We were able to escape though it looks like they really wanted to capture us but Iris created an opening for us so we were able to escape. Everyone seems to agree that if I wasn't there, they would have been captured."

"Good."

"But Ethan—"

"But? Is there more?"

She let out another sigh. "From what we heard, they've also captured many of the gym leaders already—"

"W-w-what?" He said, almost dropping the phone while he was at it. "How many are left?"

"Well, Skyla, Homika and the water gym leader who is away right now. Besides them, everyone else has been captured by Team Rocket."

"Wow, they really stepped up."

"What are we going to do now?"

He didn't answer her at first. He had expected Team Rocket to have a little victory here or there but their little scheme had went a bit beyond what even he expected. If people were afraid of them now, what would they think now that they had crushed the Pokemon League and captured many of the gym leaders? They would really be too scared to fight back. "Well…umm…"

"Ethan?"

"We first need to meet up! They didn't capture all of us so that their plan didn't totally succeed. We'll have to come up with a plan of attack but…ummm I think I may have one."

"You think?"

He sighed. "You don't trust me?"

She laughed. "I do, I do. You were the one who foresaw them attacking the Pokemon League. At the moment, you're about the one person I can trust."

"Thanks for that! Well, can you get over here to Mistralton City?"

"What about Team Rocket? Shouldn't we keep an eye on them?"

"I think that some of the Elite Four should stay behind and just keep an eye on them and report back to us about their actions."

"I agree. I think I know which ones should stay, maybe all of them in fact. Irish and me can meet you guys over in Mistralton City."

"And we'll see if we can get in contact with that one gym leader who is out on business. I guess we were fortunate he chose this time to be away."

"Yes, you're right. I'm just…"

"Yea I know. It's not very fun getting steamrolled when you're used to being able to handle yourself in a fight, it sucks."

"It does. I've never felt so powerless before. I hate that feeling."

"I do too. It is the worst feeling. I'm sorry you had to go through with that, perhaps if I—"

"Ethan, the last thing we need is for you to be captured. That is exactly what Giovanni wants, well apart from conquering the world. If he can get his revenge on you—"

"He won't if I have anything to say about it!"

"That's really good to hear. Well I'll let you go—"

"Thanks and I'll see you later!"

She said her goodbyes and he hung up. He pocketed the phone and sighed. "Well this is gonna be fun, huh Pitch?"

"Ethan!"

He turned to see Homika run up. "Oh hey Homika, I just got done talking with Jasmine."

She frowned. "Oh so then I guess you already know what happened?"

"Yep but it's okay—"

"Okay? Okay? Team Rocket trounced the Pokemon League and kidnapped most of the gym leaders? When are things bad in your mind, when we're all dead?"

He laughed. "They wanted to capture the Elite Four and the Champion but instead they got away thanks to Jasmine. They wanted to capture all the gym leaders yet there are still three running around. We still have a chance to turn things around. What, you don't trust me?"

She looked at him, dumbfounded for a few before she smiled. She grasped him by the arm. "You know what Ethan?"

"Huh?"

"I hate you."


	10. Chapter 10

They opted to meet in Skyla's gym, after she shut down all the machinery inside. They hadn't been able to get in contact with the water gym leader but left a message for him just in case. Jasmine and the Champion of Unova, Iris had been able to make it safely. To his surprise, she was only a kid. A kid with a huge amount of purple hair, so much he was sure you could hide a Wailord in it.

"So what is this big plan that you have?"

Pitch let out an annoyed chirp. "Could we at least introduce ourselves?"

Iris shrugged. "I already know everyone here but who are you? You look like some everyday trainer I run into everyday."

He and Pitch exchanged a look. "Uhh, well I'm Ethan and I'm a trainer from—"

"He's stopped Team Rocket before and is the third most powerful trainer in the Kanto and Johto regions. I can vouch for him and I know several others including Lance could vouch for him as well," Jasmine said.

Iris shrugged. "Well I guess if Lance can vouch for him, I guess I'll listen."

You guess? "All right well I guess we know what the situation is. Team Rocket—"

"Has won."

"They haven't won! Sure they control the Pokemon League and most of the gyms but they didn't capture the Elite Four or the Champ. And three gym leaders are still around so we still have a chance."

"Are you always this sickening optimistic?" Iris asked.

"Yes," Homika and Jasmine said together.

"So that aside, we're gonna have to do something about all those gyms first. I don't think a lot of the other trainers will be of much help to us. It seems everyone is discouraged after what they did. Discouraged and scared."

"So you mean we should try to kick Team Rocket out of the gyms first? Wouldn't it be smarter just to go after Giovanni? We know where he is," Skyla asked.

"Well…but its not just Giovanni. He's set up his own Dark Elite Four of sorts. We'd have to beat them before we could even get to Giovanni. And I really doubt he'll be interested in facing anyone yet," Jasmine said.

"What?" Iris asked and Jasmine sighed.

"Don't you see? He wants revenge for his last defeat and the only way he does that is by crushing Ethan. I think that's why he just toyed with us for the longest before blowing us away with a simple attack. He even said it himself."

Iris laughed. "Revenge? That sounds so stupid! Doesn't he have better things to do than waste his time on a trainer from Johto? What does he have to prove?"

"That he's the best? He can't really do that when his last loss was to a guy still running around."

Sklya laughed. "Yea but wasn't they defeated before? What happened to the guy that defeated him first, before Ethan?"

"Disappeared. No one really knows. At least he knows where Ethan is at."

Iris shrugged. "So if he wants revenge, he could crush him pretty easily now, right?"

Ethan folded his arms. "Wouldn't satisfy him. I am running with a new team, it wouldn't be a fair fight. Maybe if I had my old team but I don't and he knows that. Maybe that's why he's also taken over all the gyms—"

"Let me get this straight! He wants to allow his foe, to get stronger and train up his party so they can fight on a level playing field? The same guy who has defeated him before? Why would he give someone like that…that kind of opportunity? It's almost like he's asking to lose again," Iris said.

"Well hey, that's what it looks like. I think we should split up and kick them out of the gyms."

"How will we split up the groups?"

"Well once the water gym leader returns, there will be six of us. The party of two could probably go after some of the latter gyms while my group starts with the earlier ones."

Jasmine smiled. "Then me and Skyla—"

"What? Wouldn't it be better if me and Skyla teamed up while you three—"

"No," Homika said. Iris looked at her, Jasmine and then at him. He could only offer her a nervous smile.

"Huh, did I miss something here?"

Jasmine laughed. "No, I think me and Skyla will work well together. Besides it helps to have someone else around who knows first hand about Team Rocket and how they work. That won't be the case if me and Ethan are together."

Iris shrugged. "Well okay. I guess I'll get to see why everyone seems to think so highly of this guy but why don't you and Homika want to work together?"

Well it really wasn't a case of Jasmine having an issue but Mika. Seems she still needed some time to get used to Jasmine being around. "Iris, I can explain it in due time."

She looked at him with a curious look. "Well…okay."

"Stellar! Jasmine and me will go first to Opelucid City while you guys head over to Aspertia."

"So Ethan, I've got to ask…why is Homika and Jasmine not cool with each other?" Iris asked as they were on their way to Aspertia City. Homika was walking a few feet in front of them and didn't seem eager to join in on the conversation.

"Oh…well it's pretty simple. Or maybe not. Homika is my girlfriend but she doesn't like Jasmine very much."

"I don't get it. Jasmine seems like the kind of girl who wouldn't hurt a fly, even if it was bugging her!"

Pitch let out an amused chirp. "Yea well Homika doesn't like me being close with another girl. Even if we've been friends for a while. She doesn't like the idea of someone being more important to me than her."

Iris laughed. "That's dumb. Relationships are dumb—"

"What are you two talking about behind my back?" Homika yelled. He looked up at her. "I hate it when people do that."

"Nothing important. I'm just telling Iris how much you hate Jasmine—"

"I don't hate her. I just…tolerate her. Big difference."

"Whatever. So what kind of Pokemon do you have anyways?"

He motioned to Pitch. "Well this is Pitch. I also have a Joltik named Bolt. A Ducklett named Dodger. An Escavalier. A Litwick who I need a name for and a Deino named Sam."

"A dragon? You actually have a dragon on your team?"

He smiled. "Yep. I actually didn't capture him; he just wanted to tag along. I doubt I would have a dragon otherwise."

Iris puffed out her chest. "Well I know all about dragon Pokemon because they're the best Pokemon around—"

"No they aren't," Homika, said. "As far as I'm concerned, Poison is the best type. You're lucky I'm more interested in being a rock star. Or else I would take your spot as Champion."

Iris stomped her foot. "What? You wouldn't even get past the Elite Four before you got to me! Caitlin would make mincemeat of your smelly Pokemon! Marshal would carve them up. Anything I do would be overkill!"

Homika turned to face her. "That's what I hate about all of you Dragon type leaders. You got this high and mighty attitude since you use a bunch of scaly reptiles who are sooo rare—"

"It's a real privilege to have Dragon Pokemon! Perhaps you—"

"Homika, Iris, please cool it. Last thing we need is infighting when there is Team Rocket to deal with," Ethan said. He shook his head. "And Homika please stop. You don't need to make enemies out of everyone you meet. You're better than that."

"Why are you treating me like a child?"

He let out a sigh. Pitch gave him a sympathetic look. Even Pitch had pity for him, how sad was that? "Homika, please give it a rest."

"No, why do you always take everyone else's side and not mine? You're supposed to be my boyfriend and yet anytime there is an argument, you always side with them!"

"Because you are so stubborn. And usually anyone you argues with is more level headed."

"I'm not stubborn!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yea right, okay."

She turned away and walked further ahead. Pitch let out an annoyed chirp and he could only agree. "Do you two always argue?"

"Yes and it's getting dumb."

"Get a new girlfriend. I don't see why you would be around someone so…obnoxious. She's like a little kid!"

"Get a new girlfriend? You make it sounds like it's as simple as—"

"Well isn't it?" Iris asked. She put her hands behind her head. "I mean I don't see many couples but usually they get along with each other. Maybe they argue here and there but they aren't at each other's throats. See, you should have just teamed up with Jasmine."

"Well it would certainly be more peaceful. Well so long as they weren't together."

"She could have joined the Elite Four and kept an eye on Team Rocket."

He laughed. "She's not the sitting still type. She would go nuts at the thought even."

"So basically you let her walk all over you."

"No. Of course not. I stand up to her all the time."

Iris laughed and rolled her eyes.

Aspertia City lay in the middle of a forest in the southwestern area of Unova. It was nowhere near as big as any of the other towns they had passed and it only looked a bit bigger than New Bark. Instead of a Pokemon lab, it had it's own gym. When they approached the building, he could see a large Team Rocket flag flying atop the roof. "Well, they claimed their territory already."

"I can't wait to take that flag, beat them senseless with it and them shove it right up their—"

"I'm gonna take a look inside and see who is inside real quick. If it's a pushover, I'll just beat them real quick so we can be on our way," Iris said. She went inside and he looked over at her. She folded her arms and sighed.

"E."

"E? Is that my new nickname?"

She brushed back her hair. "You call me Mika, I can call you E. It's only fair, right?"

He looked over at Pitch. "Well, sure. I guess—"

"But I…wanted to apologize. About what happened back there. I was overreacting and just being childish. I don't blame you for siding with others over me, I guess I am just a b****."

"Oh well, that's okay. I just didn't expect you to apologize so soon."

"Well…better now than later. Besides, I don't want you getting fed up with me and dumping me for someone else."

He laughed nervously. "So you were listening in."

"I have sharp hearing. Were you actually thinking about her crazy suggestion?"

"That I dump you and get a girlfriend who doesn't argue with me so much?"

She nodded. "Yea!"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Well…uh, I guess I was shocked that she would suggest that at first."

Homika put her hands on her hips. "And then what?"

"Well I guess I had to think about it, for just a little."

"And I already know if you dumped me, you would run into the arms of Jasmine, wouldn't you?"

He folded his arms. "I don't know. Why are we even talking about this? If you're feeling guilty about how you treat me, why not try being super nice for a bit," he said. The idea of her trying to act like that made him and Pitch chuckle a little but she grasped his arm and he was surprised to see she looked pretty serious. "H-huh?"

"You don't think I can do it, can you?"

"What do you think?"

She let go of his arm and smiled. "Basically act like Jasmine? Hah, I bet I can be even better at it than she can! Just watch me E!"

Pitch gave him a look of amusement. Obviously they both were really interested in seeing in how this would go. If she snapped after having to be nice for so long, the fallout would probably be hilarious to see.

The door to the gym burst open and Iris walked out, looking a bit annoyed. She kicked the door as it closed and looked over at them. "Man the guy in there is a real jerk! He kept talking me like I was some sort of little kid and wouldn't give me the time of day! He didn't even think I was the Champion!"

"Who was he?"

Iris folded her arms and looked to the side. "He said his name was Petrel I think. He looked like an old creep! He had purple hair and—"

"Yea I know him. We've tangled before. Though he seemed kind of decent, decent for a Team Rocket executive that is!"

"Yea, well when he heard you were here, he said he was only interested in battling you. What gives?"

He smiled. "Remember, Giovanni wants his revenge but he wants it when we're on equal terms. Only way that happens is if I take on the gym leaders and gain experience with my new team. Besides, you're the Champion."

She smiled at the mention of that. "Yea…well I guess you can take him on. You better use your dragon Pokemon!"

Pitch let out an annoyed chirp and he tapped him on the beak. "First we'll see what Pokemon he has. Then I'll decide who gets their shot first."

"Well, what are we waiting around here for? I want to see how some of your new Pokemon do!"

Iris and him shot her a look. "Even if it happens to be Chase or Bolt?"

"Who is Chase?"

"That's what I'll call Litwick."

"That's a weird name," Iris said. "It's a ghost, it needs something mysterious and—"

"Actually I think it works. Though don't you like to use names you pick from videogames?" Homika asked.

"Ahh…well I do but I couldn't think of one that would fit so it's Chase."

She shrugged. "Well, as long as he likes it, I'm sure it'll work," she said with a smile.

"Why are you acting like this? You were all mean and jerkish before and now you're…being nice."

Homika shrugged. "I just thought I should treat you all better."

"You're a weirdo," Irish said. Homika blinked several times but let the insult slip by. She just had to be seething and it looked like she was getting just a bit annoyed but she just let out a sigh and shook her head.

They stepped inside the gym and found Petrel sat atop what looked like a throne of sorts. He was slouched over it, eating some food from a bowl that lay nearby but sat up when he saw Ethan walk in. "Well well well, if it isn't my good friend Ethan! Sit down, enjoy some food with me!"

He chuckled. "Not interested. What happened Petrel, I thought you were out of the whole villain business. What made you come back?"

"Oh dear boy, you know…I did try to get out of the whole evil villain business. It's tough on the ol' heart and you got all these sassy kid trainers trying to prove their strength. It's enough to cause an old man to lose heart."

"Sassy kid—"

He covered her mouth and returned his attention to Petrel. "I take it that Giovanni—"

"He is…what can we say, a very convincing man. I was convinced I was out of the whole Team Rocket business but let me tell you, once he starts talking and sharing his vision, why it would cause even you—"

"Ethan would never join Team Rocket. He can see through their lies," Homika said.

"Oh what makes you so sure?"

"I trust him—"

"Ahh yes, trust, love friendship. Those are all decent qualities…I suppose but when such a charismatic man comes to you personally and explains it all in detail, even men with the strongest of convictions can be swayed."

She shook her head. "Then you don't know him very well."

"Gag me," Iris said.

"For once we agree but we aren't here to discuss warm and fuzzy feelings. You're here for one thing and one thing only. To kick me out."

Ethan smiled. "That's the gist of it."

"Well I'm sorry to say but you'll have to earn that right," he said as he took out a Pokeball. He summoned Raticate to the arena and laughed. "I heard you have a new team. I hope we don't beat you too badly."

He rubbed his chin. He didn't have a Fighting type but he did have Chase. He reached for the Pokeball but felt another one rattle around. He glanced down and realized it was Sam. "Well…maybe just this one time."

He grabbed Sam's ball instead and summoned the little dragon. It let out a roar at the rat but Raticate wasn't all that impressed. It just flashed its large front teeth at Sam, who bared his own teeth, small as they were. They circled around, staring the other down before Petrel yelled out a command to the rat. It lunged at Sam and smacked its head into Sam's side, causing him to roll back. Sam picked himself up but the Raticate followed after him, eager to keep up on the attack.

Sam turned and swatted the rat straight in the face with its short but strong tail. It left Raticate dazed while Sam back up a bit. He opened his mouth and fire began to appear in his jaws. He charged forward and bit on Raticate's back. He tossed him to the side and Ethan's eyes grew wide. "How is he that strong already?"

"Don't you know anything about Deino?"

"Well I'm not from this region."

"Oh…well I guess you got a point there," Iris said. "Well while they grow up into a killer, they're really strong. Don't let their small size fool you. That's why they can be a handful for a new trainer. They might not listen to them or underestimate their strength."

He looked back over at the fight and by the looks of it, Sam was having his way. Raticate was fast but anytime Sam got his jaws anywhere, it let the poor rat bruising. "Well this is the first time I've had a Pokemon known for its strength. Well there was Aries but I don't think a bull compares to a dragon."

Petrel laughed. "Well it looks like he could use some help!" He said as he summoned a Crobat. The bat nosedived at Sam, who was busy with Raticate but Pitch suddenly took off his shoulder and flew straight at the bat. The two collided head on, sending both sprawling backwards, a bit stunned.

"Pitch, darn it! I was gonna let Bolt join in."

"It's okay Ethan! That's how Rufflet are, especially Pitch. They're reckless but that's how they get stronger," Homika said.

"Yea but Pitch isn't the kind to come to anyone's aid but mine. Maybe he's mellowing out."

"I think he just hates Dodger."

"He knows what Sam grows into and wants to be on good terms when he grows up. Any Pokemon would be smart to do that," Iris said with a smug look on her face.

He turned his attention back to the fight and noticed Petrel had recalled Raticate back and now Sam had to contend with a Koffing. Who seemed interested in hovering just out of his reach and pelting him with blasts of poisonous gas. Each time poor Sam tried to bite at it, the Koffing would float out of the way and continue the attack. In the meantime, Pitch and Crobat were taking turns smacking each other in the air. He needed some way to take the fight out of his two Pokemon but how. He grabbed the ball holding Chase. "I think I have an idea."

He summoned Chase to the field, who looked at him, wondering what to do. "You have that? I'm not sure what to think about that," Iris said.

"Okay Chase, do you think you could give those two a nice little burn? I'm sure that will help Sam and Pitch out."

The little ghost nodded and floated over. "Man seeing that thing reminds me of all those Litwick and how creepy they can be," Homika said. "But I guess I'm cool with Chase."

It really was almost unsettling how she was acting. No rage, no anger, not even a sarcastic remark. Meanwhile Chase had summoned two bright blue fireballs, one that floated over to the Koffing and the other that hit the Crobat. Once it was satisfied, it turned transparent and began waving its arms in the air, only its flame visible.

"What in the world is it doing? The tango?"

"I think it's trying to drain the life energy of Petrel's Pokemon."

"W-w-what? Man I really hate that line of Pokemon!"

"But, it's not their fault Iris. It's just how they are. I guess from our viewpoint, it is pretty evil to just drain the life force of others but that's how they feed and live."

He and Iris shared a look. "Did you hit your head or something? You're like a different person!"

Homika smiled and when he looked over at her, she blushed just a tad. "W-w-well, I think Ethan deserves someone better than someone who just wants to argue and fuss all the time."

"What."

He turned away. At this point he decided to just concentrate on the match. It seemed pretty weird that they were too busy talking about Homika rather than about the match but maybe he was just too used to his Pokemon being able to handle themselves. When he did, he saw Pitch perched atop a knocked out Koffing while Sam and Chase were trying in vain to hit the Crobat, who used his speed to avoid anything they threw at it. He saw what it wanted to do and shouted an order out to them. "Hey stop trying to hit the Crobat and just let him fly around! Avoid his attacks for now!"

"So you finally decided to pay attention to the match."

He smiled. "Sorry but I'm so used to my Pokemon doing so well on their own, I forget to pay attention."

"Well it may work here but I'm just the first gym leader—"

"You aren't a gym leader! You just think you are!"

"Giovanni is in control of the Pokemon League and he gets to decide who is a gym leader and who isn't."

"Well he's just taking up temporary residence. We'll kick him out soon enough and that'll be that," Ethan said. Chase and Sam had taken a seat in the arena, watching his Crobat fly around at high speed. It didn't even seem like it was even trying to attack, just fly around a bunch. Did they really have time for this? He looked over at Pitch.

"Pitch, could you do something?"

Pitch looked at him and then turned his attention to the Crobat. As it passed, he suddenly flashed him a terrifying look, or what he guess would be considered a terrifying look. Tough to be all that scary looking when you're a Rufflet but the Crobat let out a shriek of terror and became a lot slower in the air. Pitch shot him another look and he got even slower. His mouth hung open, a bit dumbfounded that it worked. "What is he doing exactly?"

"I think he's using Scary Face. It causes other Pokemon to slow down a bit," Iris said.

"Oh…I just didn't expect Pitch to know it."

Noticing the bat had slowed down a bit, Chase summoned another blue flame and launched it at the bat. This time it hit and the bat cried out in pain again as it was left with a pretty bad burn. That must have been enough for Petrel as he recalled it back to its ball. "Well sonny boy, looks like I'm all out. You've beaten me yet again."

Ethan smiled. "Petrel, why don't you just get out of this villain business."

"Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. I have to see who comes out in the end."

"Of course that's gonna be me."

He chuckled as he took something out of his pocket. "Yes well Giovanni has quite a few powerful Pokemon with him. And you don't even have any evolved Pokemon. You have your work cut out for you."

He tossed him a badge and he caught it. He looked it over and noticed it was a Team Rocket pin. "Hey, is this some sort of joke?"

Petrel shrugged. "What did you expect? We just took over the gyms. It'll be a little time before we get official badges."

"What, you think we're letting you stay here? As far as we're concerned, this gym doesn't belong to Team Rocket anymore!"

"You would force a poor, old man out of here?" He asked, looking as pitiful as he possibly could, even bending over and grabbing at his back. Ethan shook his head, almost expecting a sarcastic remark from Homika but when it didn't come, he chuckled.

"Oh stop it. You're not that old. And you can get around just fine."

Petrel laughed. "So be it. Have a good day old boy. I'm sure we'll meet again."

"So…I was thinking. What's stopping him from taking over the gym again? Now that we left?" Homika asked. He looked over at her as they headed for the next town. "I mean, that's what he's gonna do."

"We told the authorities to keep an eye out. And the place is locked up now."

"Still."

"We just kick that Giovanni guy out of the Pokemon League and then they all leave, simple as that. It's not that complicated," Iris said.

"Y-yes…I suppose you're right."

Pitch let out a surprised chirp but he tapped him on the beak. "So what's next?"

"Technically Tachikawi but since the gym leader there wasn't captured, I guess we could move onto the next one. And that would be—"

Before Iris could finish, a phone rang. The ring tone sounded like one of Homika's songs and she answered it. "Hello?"

Iris glanced at him. "Anyway, the next city would be Castelia City."

"Well that's cool. I've been there before but never to the gym."

"It was a gym dedicated to Bug Pokemon. Not sure what it is now. Probably dedicated to stupid Team Rocket."

He laughed. "Yea, I'm not sure if they'll even stick to that gym format. They'll probably do—"

"What?" Homika yelled into her phone, startling both of them. "Yea yea, we'll be over," she said before hanging up. She gripped it so tight it looked like she would crush it. "Someone…someone took over my gym!"

"Team Rocket?"

She shook her head and he began to relax. "Oh so then what's the issue? I mean if it isn't Team Rocket, we can worry about it later."

Her eyes grew wide. "W-w-w-what? Don't you get it? This is my gym! I can't have someone taking over my gym while I'm still the gym leader, it wouldn't be right! We have to go over there and check it out."

"You're still a gym leader? That's news to me. You're never even at it!" Iris said. Homika closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"I know I'm not usually there. I'm a rock star; I have all my fans to please! Ethan, we have to go over there and kick that person out!"

"Do we really need to do that? They already said it isn't Team Rocket. Why are we worrying about anyone but Team Rocket? They're the ones who took over the Pokemon League!"

Homika glanced at her. "Yes but it's my gym—"

"But Team Rocket isn't even there!"

"But it's…my gym. If you heard someone took over your gym, wouldn't you hurry over to kick them out?"

Iris frowned. "Well yea but—"

"I just want to go over to my gym, find out who is in there and kick them out. That's all I want to do. Then we can continue on with our journey."

Iris grumbled. "Oh Ethan, you're the big leader here, you decide! I still think we should pass on it."

"Yea…but I guess we could go over there, if only for a quick minute. We can't really stay there for long."

Homika smiled. "Thanks Ethan!"

"How did I know you were going to take her side?" Iris said with a groan. "This better not take very long! Such a big waste of time!"

"You're such a child, you'll understand it soon enough."

"I'm not a child! I'm the Pokemon Champion!"

Who is a kid. Homika only smiled at her. "Of course you are."

Iris shot her a dirty look. So now instead of foul words and violence, she went with this instead. " Why you…oh forget it. This better be quick!"

To be honest, this was the first time he had actually seen her gym. Like Iris pointed out, he had never seen her do any official gym business and wondered why she even cared about the gym. She had barely said a peep about it before, not even thought about it but as soon as she heard someone had taken over, suddenly it was so important? The gym even resembled more of a recording studio than an actual gym, just to point out where her priorities lay. "Okay, you two stay out here and I'll go in real quick. This shouldn't take long, especially when I flash the old Homika at them. They'll be scared straight!"

"Old Homika would have already tossed them out instead of talk about it—"

"C'mon Iris."

"I'm just saying!"

Homika went inside while they stayed outside. Pitch took to the skies to stretch out his wings while he sat down on a nearby bench. After some time, Iris joined him. "No really, why did we come here?"

He chuckled. "You're still on that? She's my girlfriend; I owe her just this little favor. Besides, she's a capable trainer. Whoever is in there can be dealt with quick enough, right?"

Iris grumbled. "Still a waste of time! Team Rocket is the bigger problem out there."

"I know, I know. Actually I'm curious why she's so outraged about it too. She hasn't said barely one thing about it. She's so caught up in being a rock star that I wonder when she had time to be a gym leader. Why not just give it up to someone who will really take care of it?"

"Why not you?"

He jumped. "What? Me? Be a gym leader! I don't think I'm cut out for that; I'd get so bored. Bored of being stuck in a building, waiting for trainers to come over and beat me so I can give them a little badge," he said, shaking his head. "Nope, I'm just not cut out for it! I don't even have a type I like the best. I'd be terrible."

"Well if you don't have a favorite type, I guess that makes things difficult."

"And I'd miss home. I'm not even from here, remember? Johto is my home."

Iris shrugged. "Well yea, I didn't forget but don't you think you'd want to be closer to your girlfriend? Why would you go back to Johto when she lives all the way out here? If that is the case, you should dump her and stick with that one gym leader from Johto…Jasmine isn't it?"

"You really don't like Homika, do you?"

"Huh, what? I'm just saying if you want to stay in Johto—"

She didn't get to finish, interrupted by a door slamming. They turned around to see Homika standing in the doorway, her face red with anger. She slammed her fist against the other door, cracking it a bit. "That…b****! That stupid f***ing b****! I'm gonna grab her by the suspenders, wrap them around her neck and—"

"Wow, so much for the nice Homika! That didn't last very long! I told you."

He ignored Iris and walked over to Homika. He put his hand on her shoulder but she pulled away. "So what's up?"

She turned slowly and glared at him. "I'm gonna kill her."

"You still haven't said who was in there."

"Doesn't matter! Once I go back in there—"

"Hold up! I think I'll go in! You'll end up doing something we'll regret," he said as he pushed her away from the entrance, though she resisted quite a bit.

"Ethan…don't you dare go in there. Don't you f***ing dare go in there."

Pitch flew over to his shoulder and he turned her back to her. "And you aren't thinking straight. Just calm down and let me handle it."

He closed the door behind him and entered the gym. The inside of the gym resembled a large stage, just like the ones she had performed on, with the title of her backup band, Dogars, in the back with large purple and teal neon lights. The walls were lined with lights that matched the color of her dress and in each corner were huge speakers that went up to the ceiling. He looked up at the ceiling and saw huge paintings of Koffing and Weezing. Suddenly all the lights turned on and he covered his eyes. "Hey Ethan! Good to see you!"

"Wait…that voice. You've got to be kidding me," he said as he uncovered his eyes. Standing in the middle of the stage was Lyra, dressed a bit differently. She had a large white poofy hat with a red bow tied around it, looking like she had stuck a balloon inside of it. She wore a red shirt and a pair of overalls except as shorts, though one of the suspenders was unattached. She bent down to pull up her socks up to her thighs while Pitch let out an annoyed chirp. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh? Aren't you going to say hi? She asked as she stood up.

"Well, I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you got crushed by that cave in."

She giggled. "Oh come on, you thought a little cave in would be the end of me! I'm a tough girl!"

He shrugged. "Well thanks for shoving me out of the way at least. I guess I owe you for that but can I ask, why did you take over Homika's gym?"

She looked wounded. "T-take it over? Who said I took it over?"

"Well that's what Homika told us. That someone not from Team Rocket had taken over her gym. She basically begged us to come here so we could kick the person out."

"Well I never took it over. I just decided to camp out here. I was gonna let her have it back as soon as she came back but she blew up at me and threatened to bash me with her guitar and all kinds of nasty things! She wouldn't even let me explain myself!"

Well she was trying to turn over a new leaf but Lyra seemed to be a touchy subject for her. Should he have been shocked that she reverted to her old ways when she showed up? "Well I don't think she trusts you very much."

"B-b-but I haven't even done anything to betray her trust!"

"It's Homika."

Lyra sighed and folded her arms. "That's too bad, because I needed your help with something. I need to steal something from Team Rocket."

"Something?"

She winked at him. "Yep, something! Well actually it's a Pokemon they have!"

"That's nice and all but why should we help you out?"

She put her hands behind her back and gave him an innocent look. She walked over to him. "Well actually, I think that stealing it from them will hurt them. Quite a bit in fact. I know you are trying to kick them out of Unova so I thought that if you help me out with this little favor, it'll go a long way to getting them out of here! What do you say?"

He and Pitch shared a look. "Well I know I owe you one but I'm not sure we can really waste time on this little side trip. With Team Rocket running the Pokemon League, we can't really waste a bunch of time—"

She walked up closer to him and rested her arms on his shoulders, looking up at him with a smile. "Please? I know you're really busy. I feel bad about you taking time out to do this but I would really appreciate it. And anything to hurt Team Rocket is good, right?" She asked as she dragged her finger across his chest.

"Uhh…well—"

"And it's not even that far away. In fact…it's in Castelia City. If you're taking out the Team Rocket gym leaders, that's the next stop in your travels, right? So we would be helping both out."

Well when she put it that way, it didn't seem like a bad idea. Especially if it was in the next city. They could help her out, hurt Team Rocket and boot the next gym leader out, all in one shot. "Well we…were headed to Castelia City next. If it's at the gym, I guess we could help you out."

She grasped him by the shoulders and winked at him. "That's great! Really awesome, I'm glad you understand! I tried to explain it to Homika but…" she said as she looked down. "…She wouldn't listen to me. I wish I could have got her to understand."

"Oh that's okay. If she doesn't like you, she can be pretty unreasonable. Don't let it worry you."

"That's why I like you Ethan, you're so understandable. Maybe we could help each other out more often. I think we would really work well together," she said. She suddenly leaned forward, pulling him in closer before she locked lips with him. He froze up like a popsicle, shocked but she didn't seem to notice. She pulled away from him and held a finger to his lips. "Oh, s-s-sorry about that. I was just so grateful that I couldn't help myself. Just…keep this a secret between us."

Pitch let out a surprised chirp but he was a bit too stunned to understand what he said. "Uh, yea."

"Oh, I guess you better let your friends know. I know Homika doesn't like me very much so I'll just stay out of the way until you calm her down."

Pitch pecked him in the side and that cleared his head in an instant, wondering just what happened. "Huh? Oh yea! I'll try to explain it to her but I don't think she'll like it very much."

He stepped outside and looked at Pitch. "Pitch, what just happened?"

"Ethan! Did you tell her to get lost? I hope you did because the sight of her just makes me…"

"Calm down! You're so annoying! What has she even done?" Iris asked.

"Everything!"

"Well that's quite a lot!"

He held out his hand and chuckled. "Iris, Iris you're making things worse. Well I did go in and talk with her. She hasn't taken over the gym at all. She wants to take back a Pokemon from Team Rocket and since it's in the next gym, wondered if she could tag along and help out, in return for getting that Pokemon."

"That's it? That's all she wanted?" Iris asked.

He nodded. "That's what she said—"

"And you believed her? You actually…believed her? With your own ears?" Homika asked. She leaned in closer and glared at him. "What's that smell? Why do you have a silly smile on your face? Why you—"

She grabbed him by the collar and pulled back her fist, face twisted with rage. "You f***ing idiot! Now I see how it is! Now I see why you agreed with her so quickly! Why you have that stupid look on your face! How could you! You, you…you!" She yelled, or rather screamed. She suddenly swung her fist forward and he winced in anticipation. For a punch that never came. Her fist had stopped a few inches short of his nose. He noticed Lyra standing to the side, holding onto Homika's arm but he wasn't sure if she had stopped her from punching him or if Homika had stopped herself and then Lyra came in. No, if she had wanted to punch him, she would have. Lyra wouldn't have been able to stop her even if she tried. She let go of his collar and pulled away, helped along further by Lyra who had pushed her away.

"Hey, what's your problem? He was only trying to explain the situation. He didn't do anything wrong, I was the one who suggested that we work together! I insisted that if you had an issue with it, I would gladly do it by myself! Why are you trying to harm the only friend you have?"

Homika looked down at her hands. "I…I…" she said, stuttering before looking up at him. "Ethan, I…I—"

"Well now that you've decided to be quiet, I can explain—"

"Don't bother E. If she hates me that much, I can just take care of it myself. If it's going to cause that much trouble," she said while glaring in Homika's direction. Homika continued to stutter as her eyes welled up.

"I really…I really am a…"

"Homika?"

"Just…leave me alone. D-don't even talk to me! Just…" she said before running off.

"I told you that you need a new girlfriend but does anyone listen to me? Nope!" Iris said.


	11. Chapter 11

"Ha-ha, well that's two gyms down already! I tell you, I wonder why so many of these people join Team Rocket? They're so hopeless and so dumb, you almost pity them—"

"Yea, if they weren't stealing Pokemon and mistreating them on top of that!" Jasmine said, interrupting Marlon.

"I can't believe you thought about pitying them Marlon! They are the worst villains…like ever! I'll be so glad when we kick them out of Unova."

He laughed. "You got that right. Well between the three of Ethan and Homika, us and Iris, I think we'll be fine. Jasmine already told us that Ethan helped stopped them before."

"He did."

Skyla laughed. "Wouldn't it be hilarious if they only came back because Giovanni wanted revenge on Ethan for defeating them before? How petty could you get?"

Marlon slapped his knee. "I would personally love to wipe that smug look on his face but I guess he's only interested in fighting Ethan so…I guess I hope Ethan can do it for me instead! So…what's next?"

Jasmine looked down at the map laid out between the three of them. She pointed toward one city. "Well, we already took care of Seigaiha and Opelucid City. It looks like next on our list…since Mistralton is taken care of…well it looks like Icirrus is next!"

Marlon leaned forward and nodded. "Yea, yea…that looks like it! Well if our first gyms are any indication, we'll be done in a jiffy! I hope Ethan is having just as much luck or else he won't get much training in to take on Giovanni!"

"Do you think…we should have let him do all of the gyms himself?" Jasmine asked. Skyla laughed.

"What? No way! We don't have that kind of time to waste."

Marlon nodded. "I see your concern Jasmine but yea, we can't let him do that. That would just allow Team Rocket to further their goals and cause even more fear in the general public. It's best this way. You said he took out Team Rocket and is the third most powerful trainer from your region, I think he can handle himself!"

Skyla laughed. "Don't tell me you're trying to sell your boy…friend short."

Jasmine blushed. "He-he-he isn't my boyfriend—"

"Huh? I didn't say he was. I just said he's a boy…that's your friend!"

Marlon chuckled. "Now you're just teasing her."

Skyla winked at them. "Maybe I am! Maybe I am. Man I'm starved, I'm gonna get a bite to eat!"

"Yea, I think I'll get something too. Coming Jasmine?"

She turned red. "Oh…umm, I'll pass! I want to look over this a little more but I'll join up with you two!"

"Okay…but I'll make sure to save you some food! You look like you could use it!"

"Skyla, do you ever stop teasing people? Marlon asked as they walked off. Skyla held up a finger and waved it at him.

"Hey, hey! I know when to stop teasing!"

"Yea, I'll believe it when I see it!"

Man, they seemed like such a happy little trio. Laughing, joking around, harmless teasing. And then look at what she had done to their group, sparring with Iris, accusing Ethan of cheating on her and then even stopping herself just short of punching his lights out. Homika let out a groan thanks to the sick feeling in her stomach as she approached Jasmine, who was busy looking over the map, humming a little tune as she did. Lying nearby was her enormous Pokemon, Rusty, who had one eye closed and one eye open, keeping vigilant watch over her. She could almost imagine Ethan being just like that for her. She could only imagine what he would turn into if someone hurt Jasmine. How would Jasmine react if she knew someone had tried to hurt him?

Rusty moved around a bit and Jasmine turned to see her. "Oh…Homika? W-what are you doing here? Why aren't you with Ethan and Iris?"

She grabbed her arm. "Jasmine…I…I…"

"What is it? Did something happen between…you and Ethan?"

"Well…you might say something like that happened. J-Jasmine…I almost did it."

She raised an eyebrow but still had a pleasant look on her face. How long would that last? "Did what?"

She hung her head. "I almost knocked Ethan out."

Jasmine didn't say anything for a bit, only looking down at the ground. Why wouldn't she anything? The least she could do was lash out, smack her or sic Rusty on her? And this is all she could do, be quiet? That's what she did best! Or…maybe she didn't hear her. "What?"

"I…almost knocked him out. I don't know what happened…I didn't mean to—"

"You. Did. What?" Jasmine said, pausing between each word. Homika began to back up but suddenly found Rusty had maneuvered his tail behind her. She wasn't going anywhere and then Jasmine stood up.

"I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it! I was just—"

"I trusted you to treat him well. I gave up my chance to confess my feelings to him because I believed he would be happy with you. I set aside my feelings a second time to go to you and convince you to go back to him and apologize. I did…all of that…for you. He treated you with kindness, he turned the other cheek and…and…this. Is. How. You. Reward. Him?"

She sank to her knees. "I know, I know. You did do all of that and I'm sorry. I really am."

Jasmine didn't even look up, clenching her fists at her side. "You think that's enough? You think after saying sorry, saying that you really are sorry…that I'll just say it's okay and to go back to him?"

"No," she said. "I don't want to go back to him. Well I do but I can't. I tried to turn over a new leaf, I really did. He suggested I try to be like you, to be kinder and gentler. To be more patient and less of a jerk. And I did. I gave it a shot and you know what? I liked it. It made me feel good, especially that I was more kind and gentle with him. And then…then…I accused him of cheating on me, even though he would never do that. He tried to explain, I wouldn't let him. Part of me urged him to not do it, to just take a deep breath and wait for him to explain but I didn't. I grabbed him and prepared to knock him out. It's only when I took that swing and stopped myself…that I realized what I was."

"You…"

She covered her face and sank lower to the ground. "I was ready to seriously harm the one person who cared about me. I was really going to do it. Then…I realized what a b**** I am. There's no hope for me. I'll never change. I can't. I'm worse than that, I'm a literal psycho. The last thing he needs is me around."

Jasmine seemed to relax, only just a bit. She slumped onto the bench and looked down at her as Homika looked up at her. She was still very angry but looked just a bit sympathetic. "That's what you've learned?"

Homika nodded and sat up. "Yes, I see it now."

"Why did you accuse him of that? He's the most decent person—"

"You two are the most decent people I know. And it was because…he wanted to work with someone. Someone I didn't trust. She's all nice and sweet but there's something about her I don't trust. And I don't have any proof either, that's the worst about it. Maybe she really is harmless and I'm just jealous. I get jealous over anyone who comes too close. You know how dumb that is? It's because I know in my heart, how twisted I am and how much I don't deserve to be around him. Then I see someone treat him better and I get jealous. That's why I could never be comfortable around you."

"W-w-well, you seem pretty comfortable around me now."

She nodded and gave a faint smile. "That's because I see it now. I have a favor to ask of you."

"H-huh?"

She nodded again. "I want you to be with him. The only person I can think of. You've sacrificed so much that you're the only person I can think that would make him happy."

"Don't say that."

"I mean it. After the hell I put him through…being with you will be a breath of fresh air."

She sighed. "And you? What do you plan to do?"

She nervously laughed and began to pretend a guitar was in her hand. "The only real thing I can think of. You know how there are so many strings on the guitar? I'm amazed at how strong they are, no matter how many times I strike them, they never break."

"You…wouldn't."

"I would. It's what I deserve. He can't come back to me if I'm dead, right?"

"Homika…the only way for it to end is if you go back to him and tell him it's really over. Until then, he'll be bugged about it—"

"I can't go back to him."

"You have to. Only way for it to be over. You owe him that much, right? That's the only way I can imagine for it to do the trick. Once he is over it, only then I can confess to him."

She sighed. "Yea right. I bet if you confessed to him right now, he would dump me and go with you."

"He's too decent to do that as well."

Homika sighed. "But if I go back to him and explain myself…if I try to get him to understand it's over…what if he takes me back? That can't happen. That's why I can't go back."

"If you're honest…he should get it," she said. "And…if you turn out to be right about this person, you would have to go back anyway, to help him."

"N-no. You can go back. Just tell him I asked you to. No, ordered you to. He would take the hint then…I think."

"Homika, you need to face him. Stop being a coward. I won't let you run away. You need to go back and face him. Tell him yourself. You owe him that much."

She sighed. "Okay…but I'm only doing it for you two. Once I do, I'm done. Out of here, out of his life and out of yours. It's the least I can do."

Castelia City was pretty barren when they arrived. He hadn't been there for long but he remembered it being a city full of hustle and bustle. Full of people with places to visit and things to do and to see it now was pretty startling. He stepped out into the middle of the street. "Where is everyone? It's like a ghost town."

"Are they really that big of a baby? Don't they know how many times Team Rocket has been defeated?"

"Yea but Team Rocket has stepped up the ante. They've taken over not only the Pokemon League but the gyms as well. Don't you think that would scare anyone? No wonder people are hiding away," Lyra said. She grasped his arm. "What do you think Ethan?"

He folded his arms. "Yea, I think everyone is just afraid but that's what we're here for."

"Wow, do you see that?" Iris asked. He looked to where she was pointing, one of the skyscrapers, which had a Team Rocket flag atop it. "You think they took over that building too?"

Pitch let out a chirp. "Man I hope not. That means we'd have to evict them from there too!"

"Did you really expect them to just take over the gyms?"

"No. I figured they would branch out but they moved a bit quicker than I thought. Well just more training for my team."

"Huh, that building is the Battle Company. They produce a lot of the items that trainers use, like items for battle and they do a lot of research for the Pokeballs—"

"So kind of like Silph."

"Silph?" Iris asked.

Lyra laughed. "They're one of the companies that mass produces Pokeballs for everyone. They also invented a lot of other items you use for Pokemon training."

"Really? Why haven't I heard of them then?"

"They're based in Kanto so that's probably why. I'm surprised you know about them though," he said toward Lyra. She laughed and winked at him.

"Silph? Of course I know about them silly, I'm from Johto!"

"You are?"

"Yep! I used to live in New Bark Town, if only for a short while. Don't you remember me?"

He racked his brain, trying to think. To be honest, he didn't remember that many kids from New Bark. He spent a lot of time riding his skateboard and getting chased by wild Pokemon until his neighbor and childhood friend Crystal, had dragged him along on her journey to become the Champion. "No, sorry. Doesn't ring a bell."

She looked sad for a bit. "Oh…well, that's okay I guess. Well, we're together now!"

"Uh, yea."

"I'm going inside there and check it out. Maybe they really haven't taken it over and are just messing with us," Iris said as she hurried off before he could stop her.

"Well time to go after her. She may be the Champion but—"

Before he could follow after Iris, Lyra hooked her arm under his and he looked over at her. "Not yet."

"Huh but what about Iris? We can't just leave her by herself like that, Champion or not."

"She is the Champion though, stop selling her so short. While she takes care of Team Rocket there, we can go to the gym!"

He and Pitch shared a look. She may have had a point but he still wanted them to stick together. The more, the merrier. She flashed him an innocent look. "Lyra, I see your point but still—"

"Please? I know between the two of us, we'll be able to kick them out of the gym with ease and then we can hurry back to help out Iris. If she even needs the help," she said as she stroked his arm. Pitch didn't seem to care for this and let his concerns know with a few chirps. He pet him on the hand and folded his arms, allowing himself to pull away from her.

"Even so, the last thing we need is the Champion of Unova getting captured because she fell into a trap. We need all the allies we can get."

Lyra sighed. He expected her to flash him another sympathetic look but she only smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "Okay, I understand. You are the boss so lead the way!"

Well that wasn't too hard. They entered the Battle Company through the revolving door and stepped into the main lobby. Just like the streets outside, it was pretty empty. Sure there was the large wooden reception desk in the middle of the room and the large plants giving the place some much needed color but not much else. Certainly no people. He put his hands on his hips. "Even inside? Are they all hiding in a bunker or something?"

"It's…a bit too quiet, don't you think?"

He didn't say anything for a bit and noticed it as well. Not even music playing in the background. "I hate it. Let's try and find Iris."

They walked around the large desk and to the elevators in the back. She walked up to a sign that sat between the two of them. "It seems the top floor is the executive office but do you think we can access it from here?"

"If it's like Silph or even the Radio Tower, no. You can only go so far and then you have to find the actual elevator that will take you up to the top."

"W-wow, really? You're really smart, you know that?"

He chuckled. "You wouldn't be the first to tell me that."

She leaned against him and laughed. "You know, maybe after we evict stupid Team Rocket out of Castelia, we should go grab a bite to eat, discuss what to do next and learn a bit more about each other."

"A…date?"

She laughed. "Not much of a date when Iris is along with us, right? Although, if you want to, we can make it just between the two of us. I'm sure Iris won't mind."

He couldn't believe she even asked that. He really didn't want to think about it either right now. "I'll…think about it."

That seemed to have satisfied her as she walked over to the elevator. "Well it seems many of the floors are just cubicles but it says Floor 47 is the first one we can go to. I guess that's our first stop?"

"Looks like it. You go on ahead, I need to head to the Pokemon Center and grab something from the PC, just to be on the safe side."

She flashed him a thumbs up and entered the elevator. Once she was gone, he let out a big sigh and walked over to the desk. He leaned against it. "Man…I don't know what to think about her. What about you Pitch?"

He chirped a response and Ethan frowned. "I think we can trust her but…she sure is a bit pushy. And she even asked me on a date!"

Pitch chirped. "Yea, I don't know. She's really affectionate though, kind of wished Homika was like that."

Pitch let out an amusing chirp and he blushed. "Do I wish Jasmine was like that? You stupid bird! How dare you suggest that!"

He grabbed at him but Pitch flew off his shoulders and hovered in the air, taunting him with a chirp or two. "Ahh forget it. Besides, I don't think I could handle Jasmine being like that. I'd pass out. Besides that, what do we do about Lyra?"

Pitch flew back down to him and chirped an answer as he returned to his perch. "You aren't sure what to think about her? Yea, me too. Still, she's been kind of helpful so I can't hold that against her. If she wants to stick around and help us some more, I won't mind."

They rode up to the 47th floor and didn't see either Lyra or Iris around. They entered what looked like a small break room. A steaming cup of coffee lay next to the coffeemaker and they exchanged a look. "Unless Iris or Lyra cares for coffee, seems like we aren't alone in here—"

"Hey, what are you doing? You better not be trying to take my coffee!"

He jumped in surprise and turned to see a Team Rocket member standing nearby, who turned white when he saw whom it was. "Isn't it a bit late to be drinking this stuff?"

"You, w-w-w-what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? I'm here to kick you guys out. Did you really think I would let you just take up space here? Nope! Not happening here!"

The guy began to back away. "B-b-but you aren't supposed to be here."

"What are you talking about?"

He turned and hurried away. Ethan smiled as he gave chase. He turned the corner, around a few cubicles and to his annoyance, noticed how high the walls of the cubicles were. It made it tough to see where the guy had run to, especially since it seemed like the whole place was some sort of maze. Had they set it up like this? Pitch took to the skies and he did his best to follow after him. And where was Lyra? Maybe she had already moved on to the next floor? Pitch suddenly let out a chirp and he followed him into a corner of the room. Laid out on the ground was Lyra. Had the Team Rocket guy knocked her out? He walked over to her and picked her up off the ground. "Hey, are you okay?"

"H-h-huh? Wh-where am I? Oh…Ethan," she said before chuckling. "I guess I was a bit over confident. He must have snuck up behind me and knocked me out."

"I hope Iris didn't suffer that. Can you stand?"

"Ahh, I think so," she said as he helped her to her feet. She smiled at him and nodded. "Thanks. Well, we better get going."

Pitch fluttered down and chirped at him. "Oh, he retreated back to the elevator? And he went upstairs? Great, maybe we'll run into Iris."

She grabbed a hold of his arm. "Is it okay if I just hang onto you for a bit? I'm still a bit dizzy and it's hard to walk around like that?"

"Uh, sure," he said as they strode over to the elevator. They only had to wait a short time before the doors opened. "What bugged me was how shocked they were to see me here. Did they expect me to just let them stay here?"

"Maybe they just thought you would be so distracted in dealing with the gyms that you would miss it."

"Hmm, maybe so. Still—"

"You're thinking too much about this."

He rolled his eyes. "It's my job to."

She looked up at him and rested her arms on his shoulders. "And that's the problem. Someone shouldn't have to bear all of this on their shoulders. You don't have to do this alone."

"I'm not doing it alone—"

"Hehe, I guess you're right. And now that I've decided to help, you have even more hope of succeeding."

"Well I guess—"

"You guess?"

"I was kidding. I welcome your help."

She laughed. "So would you two have an issue with it if…maybe I stuck around past Castelia City? It looks like you have an opening in your group and if I could slide in and offer my help—"

"Augh you two! I leave you alone for a few minutes and you're all over each other! Get a room!" Iris said. He noticed the doors had opened and she was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips. Lyra moved away from him and walked past Iris, rubbing her hand in her hair.

"Stop being silly. So did you learn anything?"

Iris folded her arms. "Not a thing! I have barely run into any Team Rocket guys too. Are they even here?"

He nodded. "I did run into one downstairs. He got away though and if he isn't on this floor, I guess he went upstairs."

Iris shrugged. "Well there isn't anyone on this floor, I checked it all. Let's go upstairs then!"

She hopped inside the elevator and Lyra stepped back in as well. "This is really turning into a waste of time."

"I agree. Maybe they set this up to distract us," Iris said. "So stupid!"

"Well it wouldn't be the first time. Or the second."

"So this has happened before?"

He nodded. "A bit more than I would like to admit."

"Well you could have told me, sheesh! It probably is nothing but a distraction, let's get out of here."

She reached forward to press the button for the ground level but the elevator came a stop and the doors opened. He stepped out into the floor and looked around. Nothing but more cubicles, even on the top floor. Then where was the executive's office then? He folded his arms and glanced at Pitch. "Hey, go see if you can see anything. I'll look around too. That Team Rocket guy has to be somewhere around here."

Pitch took to the skies and he began to look around himself. He entered a row of cubicles, looking down each one, hoping to see something or someone. He kept an eye out for any Team Rocket stuff but to his surprise, there wasn't much of anything. So why was the flag there? What was that lone Team Rocket guy doing here? He reached the end of the aisle and found him huddling under a desk. "Hey, get out of there!"

"No!"

He reached under but the man slapped at his hand. He whistled for Pitch, who zipped over. "Hey Pitch, see if you can encourage this guy to come out of his hiding spot, please?"

Pitch flew under the desk and he heard the man cry out, bang his head against the top of the desk and crawl out, covering his head as he did. Ethan followed him to the elevator where Lyra and Iris waited for him. He looked up at them and then back at him. "Ahhh umm—"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was staking this place out. I thought it would be the perfect place for our new headquarters. I figured that since you would be too distracting dealing with the gym, that I would have all the time in the world to getting the place ready. Now…"

"Yea, so much for that idea! As far as I'm concerned, you guys better get out of the city now or else I'll have to do it by force!"

"By force? Umm…uhhh—"

"I'm serious. Get that word across to your Team Rocket buddies."

"Yea and if you don't, things are gonna be much worse for you!" Iris said. The guy got to his feet.

"Okay, okay. I'll let them know. Just don't let that bird attack me again!"

Ethan nodded as Pitch returned to his shoulder. "He'll behave but only if you do what we say. Otherwise, Pitch will have to teach you a lesson again."

"Or maybe I can get my dragons to teach you a lesson."

"And I'm sure that Bayleaf would love to—"

"Okay okay, I'm gone!" He said as he hurried into the elevator. Once he left, they looked at each other.

"You think he'll really do what we said? Or will he just go get backup?"

Ethan folded his arms. "That's a good question. He may listen to us or he may not. I think we should go to the gym and check it out, just to be safe."

"Great, let's go over there and check it out! I kind of hope they took the hint!"

"That will be the day."

She poked her head around the edge of the wall and noticed the three enter the Castelia Gym. And just as she thought, Lyra still kept close to him. "Urgh, she makes me so mad!"

"So tell me why again are we spying on your ex?" Ryan asked. He let out a groan and she turned to grab him by the collar.

"He's not my ex! At least, not yet. I still have to break up with him!"

He sighed as she let go of him. "Okay so he's not your ex but it's pretty clear to me that you two aren't a couple anymore. Why are we spying on them?"

Homika let out a sigh. "Look, I just don't trust Lyra, at all. Not even one bit."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

He chuckled. "Sounds to me like you're just jealous."

She looked at him. "Jealous of a girl who dresses like a kid? Jealous of a girl who can't keep her hands off a guy?"

He laughed again. "You really don't know much about guys do you?"

"I know enough—"

"Ha, most guys would be overjoyed to have a girl all over them."

She looked at him. Was he serious? "But she's like all over him! It's like anytime they're together; she has to be touching him, grasping his arm or…augh! And…maybe you're right but he doesn't look all that comfortable about it at times."

He shrugged. "So she's a bit clingy. Give her time and she'll tone it down just a tad so he's more comfortable—"

"No. I can't let that happen! She's no good for him."

"Oh, she isn't?"

Homika stomped her foot. Why did he have to be so argumentative? "No! He should be with Jasmine. They're perfect for each other!"

"Oh you mean Toots!"

She looked over at him and leveled her eyes a bit. "Toots? Does she like it when you call her that or—"

He laughed and looked away. "Well she shot me a look and said Rusty might have to teach me a lesson or two. I didn't really expect that from her."

"She'd probably only accept being given a nickname by Ethan."

"But her?"

"Yes, her. Once I get Lyra away from him and I break up with him, I'm dragging Jasmine over here."

"So getting back to my first point…why do you hate her? You say she's bad news but I'm not seeing it."

"Call it a girl's intuition."

"Do you even know what that is?"

"Shut up!"

She peeked again and saw the three come out again. She shook her head as Lyra pointed over to a nearby outdoor café. Ethan didn't seem all that interested but seemed to relent. "Well you are right about her being a little pushy—"

"Little isn't the half of it."

Watching them at the café seemed like the longest two hours she had ever experienced. What made it worse was when Iris went inside for a bit, Lyra and Ethan seemed to be enjoying themselves. She still kept close to him, often playing footsies with him or something and he wasn't even bugged by it. To anyone else, they looked like a nice little couple. "Well…can we go now?"

"I feel sick."

"Yea, it's getting super sappy over there. I'm sick of watching, let's go—"

"No. She's up to no good, I know it. I just need some proof."

"What if there is no proof? What if she's innocent, just a bit on the clingy and affectionate side? Then what?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. He couldn't be happy with her, could he? On the outside, it was beginning to look that way. And that just made it worse. What if Ryan was right and Lyra was harmless? Then what? She didn't want to think about that. "I don't want to think about it."

"Huh, looks like Lyra is stepping away. I wonder—"

"Stop talking. Let's get closer. Maybe she's up to something."

Lyra ducked inside a nearby alley and the two of them entered from the opposite end, getting close by ducking behind some nearby dumpsters. It sounded like she was having a conversation of sorts. "Hello, this is Lyra. Oh hello Archer, how are you?"

"Isn't that one of the Team Rocket execs?" Ryan asked but she shushed him instead.

"Huh? It's not my fault! You were supposed to have more people in that tower. You really think one is enough to capture the Champion? That's right, there was only one guy in there, pathetic! I even tried to buy a little time so maybe some more could show but nothing!"

So was she some sort of double agent or what? Homika smiled as Lyra kept talking. So maybe she didn't have a recorder on her or something but this was just the sort of thing she wanted to hear.

"Well okay, I guess you'll just have to set the trap in the next town. I hope it's a good one. Huh? W-w-what did you say?"

"Why did she get all nervous?" Ryan asked in a very low tone. That's what she wanted to know but it sounded like Lyra had heard something she didn't like. They heard what sounded like a trash can being kicked.

"What did you say? I don't think you understood me before Archer. You can have the Champion. You can have the Elite Four. You can have Jasmine, Skyla and Marlon but there is one person you can't have! What? I never said I was turning over Ethan to your hands. Nope, sorry!"

"So she really likes this guy."

Lyra laughed. "I know how much Giovanni wants to crush him but I don't care. I would hand over anyone in the world to you but him. If you don't want to see it that way, then perhaps I will just stop our little deal and let him crush you anyways. It happened before and it'll happen again. Even if I'm the only one by his side."

"Okay so she's starting to creep me out, just a tad."

She shot him a look. Just a tad? What would be considered really creepy?

"Well…if you're going to be like that, conversation over," she said as she hung up. Homika peeked around the dumpster and saw her began to pocket the phone before she held it close to her chest and slumped to the ground. "Ugh, why am I doing this? Why do I even need to bother with them? They're a bunch of idiots anyway; Ethan will crush them with ease. It's just…what am I going to do about her? That stupid rock star is out of the way but what about Jasmine? I can't have her around, can I? No, no…if she's around, he might fall in love with her and…no. He can't fall in love with anyone else, especially not her," she said. She pulled the hat down over her eyes and began to giggle. "No, no, it's okay Lyra. There is still that trap waiting for them in Icirrus. Yep, that will take care of that little problem."

She almost felt like going after her right now but she stopped herself and just counted to ten until her anger began to subside a little. It was even worse off than she imagined. "I hate her."

"Ahh but I'm just so close. Let them have those three gym leaders. Ethan and me can crush them with ease. I don't know how I can get rid of Iris but she's just a little kid, she won't be in the way. Once Jasmine is gone, then the only person he'll have will be me. The only person he'll ever need," she said. She let out a sigh and smiled. She left the alley and Homika looked over at him.

"There's your f***ing proof!"

He laughed. "She's a real case."

"I knew there was something about her but I can't believe she's a double agent. Ugh, worse than that! She's using both sides for her own benefit."

"You mean for his benefit. She thinks she's doing this all for his sake."

"Yea but—forget it! Forget her for now; we have to get to Icirrus City! We have to make sure those three are okay! We're gonna need your flying Pokemon like now!"

"Okay okay, you're just as pushy as she is. Wait, we don't even know what the trap is!"

"It has to be connected to the gym. Team Rocket knows what we're targeting so it'll be there! If we can just prevent them from going inside, that should be enough, right?"

"I guess…"

They arrived in the snow-covered town half an hour later. His Mandibuzz dropped them off not very far from the gym itself. She hopped down and slipped on the snow, falling on her bottom. She jumped up and knocked the snow off. "Oh s*** that's cold!"

"Well it is snow."

"No one asked you, you know? Now…I wonder if they're inside already? Let's go check real quick!"

"D-do you ever slow down?"

She ignored him and ran over to the gym, almost slipping again a few times but catching herself just before she face planted. She even slid a few inches over to the door and grasped it by the knob to steady herself. She opened it and peeked inside. "Well, I don't see anything or anyone."

She opened the door further and stepped inside. As she did, she thought she heard what sounded like gas. She looked up but couldn't really see anything but began to feel a bit drowsy. She fell to one knee but felt someone grab her underneath her arm. "Hey, snap out of it?"

"H-huh?" She said but everything was a bit hazy. She felt herself being dragged out of the gym, and along the snow covered ground. The snow against her legs snapped her out of it and she jumped to her feet. "That's c-c-cold!"

Ryan shrugged. "You looked like you were about to fall asleep—"

She turned and kicked the door shut. "I was falling asleep! Those jerks, that was sleeping gas! Or maybe they had some Munna in there but whatever it was, that was the trap all right!"

"So what if they were already captured and we were too late?"

She frowned. "I…didn't think about that. You stay here and I'll go around back!"

She took out a Pokeball and summoned her Koffing. They hurried around to the back of the gym and just as she turned the corner, she saw a large black van in the back. It was unmarked but looked like a cargo van, the perfect vehicle to transport a few unconscious gym leaders. "It's running too. I…hey Koffing, if anyone tries to drive off, give them a blast of poisonous gas! That will stop them short!"

She hurried to the back, taking out another Pokeball as she did. She saw the doors slam shut and heard voices. "Well that takes care of that. So where are we taking them to?"

"Eh, Giovanni asked us to bring them back to the Pokemon League."

"Great! So all that is left is Ethan and the Champion? This is looking better already!"

One of the Team Rocket members walked around the side and saw her. She realized the Pokeball was empty and cursed to herself. "Eat this f*****!" She yelled as she flung it at him, nailing him square between the eyes. He fell backwards and she heard Koffing spraying some gas. She left the guy and walked around to the other side, as the other guy fell out of the cab, covering his mouth. He stumbled away and crawled toward the back until he came a foot of her.

"H-h-huh?" He said, looking up slowly. He gave her a clean shot of his face and she used that to kick him in the face real hard. She pumped her fist and laughed.

"Ha-ha, stupid Team Rocket! You think you were going to get the drop on something or us? Well…I guess you did but I bet you didn't expect me, huh? Huh?"

She walked back to the back and opened the doors. She heard the car cut off and looked around the corner to see Ryan walking up. "So they were about to get away."

"Were. Key word there," she said. She opened the door and found the three gym leaders lying inside, unconscious. She let out a sigh of relief. "Glad they're okay. Let's pull them out and throw them in the snow."

"Throw them in the snow?"

She winked at him. "What's wrong? That icy cold feeling will wake anyone up. It did for me and I'm a hell of a heavy sleeper!"

"If Toots finds out I agreed to that…"

"She isn't Toots and I'm gonna tell her that you kept calling her that. I'm sure she'll be pleased!"

"I got a better idea. Let's just toss some snow onto their faces instead. Same thing, same result."

She shrugged. "Fine, fine. Let's do it."

She scooped up some snow with her hands, not a lot but enough to have an impact and tossed it up toward Jasmine's face. She jumped up almost at once, wiping it off her face and clutching her shoulders. "Oh, that's cold! Wait, Homika? What was…what are we doing inside of a van?"

Homika winked at her and motioned her out. Jasmine slid out of the van and Homika grabbed her by the hand and led her away. "Don't struggle, I need to talk to you in private."

"Ahh okay but do you have to be this forceful?"

"Oh, sorry," she said as she let her hand go. Jasmine nodded.

"Okay, lead me on."

She led her a few feet away and keyed her in on what she had learned. Jasmine turned white when she described in detail the conversation Lyra had and how she acted afterwards. "S-s-s-so she tried to betray all of us."

"Well to be honest, I think the other two were just collateral. She seemed really focused on getting you out of the way, it was pretty creepy."

"G-get me out of the way?"

Homika shrugged. "By the way she made it sound, it was almost like that was supposed to be permanently but you can't be sure with a loon like her."

Jasmine looked away and sighed. "I'm just…you actually came out here to rescue us?"

She shrugged. "Well rescue you but since those two were with you, I guess those too—"

"But…why? You hate me!"

Homika sighed. "Didn't I already explain it to you Jasmine? Ethan doesn't deserve to be around someone like me. And he definitely can't be around a lunatic like Lyra either. It can only be you!"

She blushed. "I-I-I know what you're saying but I can't confess to him—"

"You want him to end up with that clingy psycho? Because if you don't step in, that's what is going to happen!"

"Have you even broken up with him yet?"

She looked away. "Oh…yea. I guess I better get to that. Well then you can come with me anyway! I'll let him know that we are done and that you should be with him instead. Oh and I'll make sure to give Lyra a piece of my mind. I'm gonna really enjoy telling that creep to buzz off!"

Jasmine put her hands behind her back. "You rescued me."

"Yes, of course. If Ethan heard you got harmed or seriously hurt…he'd be crushed. Maybe even depressed. Or maybe he'd finally snap. I can't let that happen. It's the last thing I want to see but when you're around, he seems to be more pleasant and happier. Almost to the point of being a total sap but…you see where I'm getting at?"

"I'm just wondering…do you still want to break up with him?"

Homika didn't answer her for a moment but closed her eyes and hung her head. "No. I miss him. I miss hearing him talk about love and friendship and that dopey look on his face. I miss him telling me about his other Pokemon or his previous adventures…I…ugh, listen to me! I'm terrible. I don't know how I'm going to face him and tell him that. I have to though! It's for his own good! And like I said, you'll treat him right."

"I can't do that. I can't confess. What if he doesn't—"

She grabbed her hands and stared into her face. "What are you babbling about? He treats you like the most important person in the world! You guys are pretty much are a couple…you just don't act like a pair in love."

"You're getting to be as bad as Erika."

"Huh?" She asked as Jasmine grasped her hands.

"Okay, okay, you can stop. You're becoming pretty silly! Okay, I'll tell him."

Her heart sank. Well she had pushed for it but hearing her say it was quite another. This was…going to take some time to get over. "Good, I'm glad to hear it. Well I guess we better hurry and find him!"


	12. Chapter 12

"Have you ever been to Nimbasa City?" Lyra asked as they walked along the road that led through a desert. Hot winds blew sand both ways across the road and he often had to keep a hand on Pitch to keep him from being blown away or else the little bird would dig his claws into his shoulder and he'd rather not deal with that.

"Nimbasa? I've heard about it. It's like the entertainment capital of Unova, right?"

"Yep! There have sports stadiums, arenas, movie theatres and even an amusement park. Nimbasa and Castelia are almost considered the Twin Cities because they're so close to each other. Castelia is just the center of the business world," Lyra said.

"An amusement park sounds like fun!"

"Sounds like fun? You make it sound like you've never been to one before? What kind of place do you live in?" Iris asked. He chuckled as Pitch let out a terrified chirp, not pleased about being pelted by the wind and sand.

"Well Johto—"

"It's a bit of an old fashioned place," Lyra said, finishing his sentence for him. "Maybe in a few years they'll come around but the biggest thing we have for entertainment is the Pokeathelon. It's nice but I know Unova has us beat!"

"I don't mind it actually."

"H-h-huh?" Lyra asked. "W-well I guess I see your point too!"

"But didn't you just say—"

"I was just saying that I could see his point too."

Iris shrugged. He looked off to the side and thought he saw a pair of eyes duck into the sand. He stopped in his tracks. "Hey, I thought I saw something. Perhaps it's another Pokemon?"

"Well duh! What do you think it—"

Pitch fired off a chirp in Iris' direction and he could only smile at him for causing Iris to shut up. "Ethan, do you really think we should—"

"What kind of Pokemon lives here?" He asked as he looked over at Iris. She shrugged.

"Well let's see…there is the little sand crocodile named Sandile, a fire monkey named Darumaka…or something like that! I'm trying to think what else…"

As she went on, a small beige crocodile with black stripes along its back, a pink belly and eyes that looked like a pair of sunglasses popped out of the sand and glanced over at him. "If it lives in the sand, I guess it'd be a ground type. Ugh, I don't have a water or grass type with me!"

He felt Lyra grasp his arm. "That's okay. We can just come back another time and catch one. Maybe even just the two of us."

"Seriously, are you gonna get distracted by every little Pokemon you think looks cool or something? It's like you've never seen a Unova Pokemon before!"

He was going to answer but Pitch let out a string of angry chirps in her direction and she looked a bit taken aback by him. Once he was done, he pat him on the head. "Like Pitch said, I only have five Pokemon anyway. One more would—"

"But Sandile is ground and dark! You already have a dark Pokemon, right? Why would you use another one?" Iris asked.

"Oh, he's part dark too? That sucks, he looks pretty cool too. I guess I'll have to pass—"

Lyra tugged on his sleeve. "Don't worry about it E! You've already told me about your team and I know of some Pokemon you could use! Just leave it to me!"

Pitch let out a chirp, reminding him who he promised to leave a spot on his team for and he chuckled. Lyra looked at him, a bit confused and he waved her off, while also freeing his arm, again. "Oh, Pitch just reminded me I need to leave a spot on my team for a Poison—"

"Poison? Of all the types, you would save a spot for that?" Iris asked. "Why would you use a Poison type anyway?"

He laughed. "Well what do you think?"

"Please tell me you're kidding."

He looked over at Lyra and shook his head. "No, why should I?"

She looked away. "Oh, never mind."

"Maybe I'll catch a Sandile another time, he looks pretty cool."

"Pretty cool? Is that how you pick Pokemon, by how they look? Why would you even do that? You're like a kid!" Iris said.

He suddenly shot a glare in her direction. "A kid that helped take down Team Rocket once before, beat Giovanni and is considered the third best trainer in two regions."

As they arrived on the fringes of Nimbasa, he saw nothing but Team Rocket members walking around. They ducked behind a nearby building and he peeked around the corner. "It's like a Team Rocket convention out there."

"I don't get it, why are they out here in Nimbasa?"

"I guess Team Rocket needs to entertain themselves too."

"Is that supposed to be some sort of stupid joke?" Iris asked. Pitch let out a chirp; nice to know he was thinking the same thing as him. "What did he say?"

"He says you're being a brat."

"That stupid bird! I bet he won't be talking so much after he meets one of my dragons!"

He let out a sigh. "You do that and I'm sure Sam would come to his defense. Can we please drop this and figure out how to get in?"

"Well, wouldn't it be smart just to steal some uniforms?" Lyra asked. He looked over at her and nodded.

"Yea, that's probably the best but—"

"Then don't worry, I have some with me!"

"You…do?"

Lyra nodded as she set down her bag and opened it. "Yes, I've done a little undercover work on them myself and swiped a few uniforms while I was at it. I've just kept them on me, just in case."

"How many do you have?"

"Enough!" She said as she took out several uniforms. She tossed one to him. "I think that should fit you. I think the one I have is a bit big for Iris but oh well."

He looked at it, remembering the last time he had put on a Team Rocket uniform. It hadn't gone very well and he wasn't all that eager to put it on again. He noticed Lyra and Iris shooting him a curious look and he laughed. "Ha-ha, don't mind me. I was just thinking. Let's split up. At first I was thinking we could just go to the gym but with all these Team Rocket people around, I think we need to investigate a bit. There maybe some important Team Rocket people around."

"Split up? But—"

"It's for the best. I'm sure you two can handle yourselves. Let's meet back here in about an hour and a half."

To keep his disguise honest, he had to return Pitch back to his ball. Pitch protested for a bit but eventually relented when he promised he'd let him out eventually. Just in case he got captured, he decided to hide it under his cap, just to be safe. He had to chuckle as he entered the amusement park after noticing quite a few Team Rocket people had their Pokemon out of their Pokeballs, he decided to let Dodger out for once. Instead of sitting on his shoulder, Dodger decided to waddle along side him, pleased as peach to be out and about. He stared up at the enormous Ferris wheel that seemed to be the highlight of the amusement park. "Look at that Dodger, I think that would be pretty cool to ride on."

Dodger let out a quack. "Huh? Not now! We've got stuff to do! Maybe another time we can ride it! I don't think Mika would go for it but maybe Jasmine would."

A Team Rocket guy stopped them as they walked past a popcorn stand. "Hey, I got a question for you."

"Huh? Oh sure, what is it?"

"Have you seen some people walking around? Non Team Rocket people?"

He shook his head. "No but could you give me a description? I bet I could keep an eye out for them!"

"Eh well I'm sure you know what Ethan looks like, right? We know he was supposed to be showing here. Archer is looking for him."

"So he can defeat him?"

The guy shook his head. "I don't know yet but Archer wants to meet with him. Who knows what he wants but if you do see him, you are to take him to Archer at once!"

"Of course!" He said. He looked over at Dodger and they kept walking. "Red carpet treatment? I wonder what Archer wants?"

Dodger let out a quack and he shook his head. "What? I don't think he'd want to meet about perhaps packing up and leaving. Not a chance. He's gonna—"

He wasn't watching where he was going and bumped into someone. He stumbled back and noticed he had bumped into a female Team Rocket member. "Oh, sorry! I was a bit distracted and wasn't paying attention!"

He dusted himself off and tipped his cap to her. Actually it appeared to be two female Team Rocket members and the one behind her was grasping her by the shoulders and pushing her forward. She looked up at him and he realized it was Jasmine behind the mask. "Huh, what are you—"

"Hey you two, let's get off the sidewalk!" The other one said and he realized it was Homika. What were they doing here, together? Homika grabbed his hand and led the two of them away. Darn it, did they have to do this now? Homika led them away from the hustle and bustle of the amusement park and to some benches off to the side. She sat the both of them down and smiled. "Good—"

"What are you two doing here? I thought you were working with Skyla and that water gym leader?"

"I dragged her out here for an important reason. And…she's working with you from now. I'm…going back to my studio."

"But—"

Homika shook her head. "No, you aren't going to change my mind E. I'm only going to end up hurting you in the end so…"

"Wait Homika—" Jasmine said but Homika held out her hand to stop her.

"No. I'm sorry E but it's for the best. Besides, I brought Jasmine out here because she needs to tell something to you."

"I-I-I do?"

Homika nodded and began to walk away but Jasmine jumped up and grabbed her by the hand. "Hey, what are you—"

"Sit down," she said as she forced Homika to sit down next to him. He and Dodger exchanged a look.

"Jasmine, what are you doing? I'm—"

"Ethan…would you…ummm…"

Homika sighed. "How hard can it be? All you have to do is tell him that you like him more than just a friend—opps."

Jasmine turned bright red. So is this why Homika had dragged her out? Wait; did that mean that all that time when Erika teased him about the two of them…it was actually true? Homika stood up and sat Jasmine back down again. "Ethan, I…"

"Is that true?"

"Y-y-y-yes."

Ugh, now what? If he rejected her, then what? Isn't this what he always wanted, to know that she would like to be more than friends? He had always thought that wasn't the case but now he had his answer. "What are you…waiting for Ethan?" Homika asked. She sounded pretty choked up but kept forcing a smile.

"Well…I…don't know what to say."

Homika let out a sigh. "L-look Jasmine, I'll…save you the trouble. He feels the same way. Ethan, I want you to be with Jasmine instead. I know she'll treat you a lot better than I ever could and…it would really make me happy if you two got together. You both deserve it."

Jasmine looked back at him and then back at her. She began to open her mouth and seemed to think better of it. She gathered herself and let out a sigh. "Ethan…I…"

He took her hand and she turned bright red. "Jasmine…umm…how do I say this? I do like you…more than a friend but…can we just stay like that?"

She smiled, causing him to feel quite a bit of relief. "Yea, me too. I'm honored you feel the same way about me as I do for you but I can't do it either. So are we still best of best friends?"

"Of course! You had to ask—"

"Are you two f***ing kidding me? You've…you've been crushing on each other for the longest…you are the closest of friends and—"

"Homika, you're still hopelessly in love with him, aren't you?"

"So? I'm—"

"You really impressed with how far you were willing to go to make him happy. You've really improved a lot and I think you two should really be together."

"But…but…"

She got up and grasped Homika by the shoulders. "I trust you. And you really do care for him. Maybe more than I ever could."

"Liar! And…and…I don't know what to say."

"Well…you two could kiss and make up," she said as she sat Homika down next to him. "I think I'll leave you two alone, is that okay?"

"You two make even a double rejection sappy."

Jasmine laughed as she walked off. Homika grumbled and rubbed the back of her head. Dodger quacked at him and he laughed. "Dodger says you don't need to make it elaborate."

"Did he really say that?"

He shrugged. "Nah."

She sighed. "Well…now I have to think of how I'm gonna say my apology. I was planning to leave and go to the studio…find a use for those guitar strings of mine—"

"What?"

She looked up at him and smirked. "Nothing, nothing! I…really am sorry for how I handled that how Lyra thing. Even if I didn't trust her, I should have been more patient and tried to explain it instead of snap and threaten to slug you. The worst part of it was…I think I liked trying to be the nice girl for once. It made me a bit more relaxed and calm. Sure there was stuff that annoyed me…like that bratty Iris but I think I could have found ways to deal with it instead of snapping and becoming a psycho."

"That's okay, I forgave you anyways—"

"What, already? So then…"

He laughed. "I was just wondering if you would come back."

Homika folded her arms. "Yea…that wouldn't have been right for you to come to me. Well, I'm happy that you still want to be with me, even with all my flaws," she said. She reached over and hugged him around the neck.

"Ack…could you let me breathe."

"Oh, sorry!" She said as she let him go. She tapped her chin. "Hey, where is Lyra?"

"We split up so she's somewhere in town. Why?"

Homika jumped to her feet. "That…jerk can't be trusted! This time I've got proof! I overheard her talking with someone from Team Rocket and she knew about the trap in Icirrus City that nearly caught Jasmine, Marlon and Skyla!"

"Huh?"

Homika pumped her fist. "And she was planning to turn over Iris to them as well!"

He and Dodger exchanged a look. "But…why? She didn't seem like the type—"

"Exactly, I bet that is what she counted on."

"But…what about me? If she was planning to turn over everyone else to Team Rocket…"

Homika leaned forward. "She creeps me out. Maybe she isn't crazy…no, she is crazy! She seems to be only motivated by her obsession with you. She was willing to get all of us out of the way so only the two of you could take on Team Rocket."

He leaned back on the bench. "Well…she was always a bit clingy. And I think I did notice how she always seem interested in just staying with me and finding a way to send Iris away or keep her distracted—"

"Right! We need to find her and—"

"Well…let me talk with her."

She frowned. "Are you sure about that? I don't really trust her alone with you! What if she discovers that you know she can't be trusted? I bet she'd probably just…I don't know what she'd do now that I think about it but if we have to confront her, all of us should be there!"

He folded his arms. "Well…"

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Look, I understand. Or maybe I don't but I think I know what you're feeling. You're a nice guy, too nice sometimes and maybe even a little naïve. You probably haven't had many people turn out to be different than what you expected. I have…and it f***ing sucks!"

"Yea…"

She smiled. "Trust me, just don't confront her alone! Trust me on this one!"

He and Dodger exchanged a look. "Well…okay. We're supposed to meet back at the entrance of town…in about an hour. We can do it there."

"Good! So…you all split up?"

"Yea, to investigate. I didn't expect them to take over an entire town already. I figure there might be a few Team Rocket executives around and if we could capture them, that would help out."

"Okay, sounds like a plan! I can't wait to show up Team Rocket!" She said as she ran off. He watched her leave and looked at Dodger.

"Well, should we be going then?"

He and Dodger came across the Nimbasa Gym, though it didn't look much like a gym and more like the entrance to bumper cars. When he stepped inside, he saw that it really was like bumper cars, in a way. The floor had tracks where the bumper cars traveled along, moving you to another part of the room. He imagined there had to be some sort of system where you had to take on a few trainers before getting to the gym leader. He did notice that it was pretty empty. All the lights were still on but that was about it. "I thought they had taken over most of the gyms? Maybe since they took over the entire town, they didn't need to take this over."

Dodger let out a quack and he nodded. "Yea, I think it'd be awesome to navigate this gym and take on the gym leader but maybe another time."

Dodger let out another quack and he laughed. "Oh I guess I misunderstood you. You think we should check it out anyway? Hmm, I guess. If there is a back room, maybe we'll find something."

He hopped into one of the bumper cars that stopped nearby and it sped along and dumped him off at another part of the gym. It took him a little bit of time, pressing all the annoying switches to get around but soon he was at the back door. He looked at Dodger and grumbled. "That took too much time! I don't think I'll have a lot of time to waste here before we have to go back. I hope this was worth it!"

He let out a quack of apology but Ethan just reached over and pat him on his head. "It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm not annoyed at you, more at the layout of this gym. I hate it when they design gyms like this."

He opened the backdoor and it looked like he had stepped inside a disco club. There was a large disco ball in the middle of the ceiling and colored lights all around. Music boomed from the corner speakers and he and Dodger could only look at each other. "I thought she's supposed to be a model! Models are supposed to be like…I don't know, in touch with the trends. Didn't disco die years ago?"

He walked in a bit more and folded his arms. "This is pretty crazy. Hah, Wiggler would love it here. I could only imagine him grabbing the mike and belting out a tune. Probably a bad one at that."

Dodger let out a surprised quack and he looked over at him. "Huh, what was—" He said before he felt something hit him in the back of the head really hard and he blacked out.

"Ugh…my head," he said as he finally awoke. His head still felt like someone was taking a hammer to the inside of his head and he tried to lean over but felt himself tied up. Tied up in a chair, in a darkened room. "Now where am I? Dodger?"

"I'm so sorry."

"Huh? Hey, where am I?"

"You're not in Unova anymore."

Even with his headache, he could recognize that voice. "Huh, Lyra? What are you doing."

"I'm really sorry."

"If you're so sorry, why am I still tied up?"

A light turned on and she stepped into the light, having lost her Team Rocket disguise. She had her hands behind her back and had an apologetic look on her face. He tried to get out of the ropes but she had tied them good and tight and moving his head only caused him more pain. She walked over to him and stroked his cheek. "Please don't do that. You're probably still suffering from a headache and it'll only make it worse."

He glared at her. "At least tell me why I'm tied up."

She got on her knees and looked up at him. "Trust me, it's for your safety. If I didn't have to do it…I wouldn't."

"My safety…what are you talking about."

She got to her feet and walked away. "I'm talking about her…"

"Huh?"

She stomped her foot. "I'm talking about Homika! Why did you accept her back into the group? She's nothing but bad news!"

"Are we still arguing about this? I'm sure we have more important things to worry about, like Team Rocket. And speaking of Team Rocket, I heard a little rumor that you were working with them."

"A little rumor, you mean from Homika perhaps?"

"Well I won't name names—"

She walked back over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "E, I would never betray you. Never ever! How could I work with Team Rocket when they want to destroy you."

He shook his head. "I want to believe you but—"

"But?"

"I trust Homika a bit more than I trust you, especially since I've known her longer."

"But she didn't want me in the group before and you welcomed me! I even stopped her from striking you! So now, you've suddenly changed your tune."

He chuckled. "That was before she told me she overheard you speaking with someone from Team Rocket. It seemed you knew about the trap in Icirrus City that almost had Jasmine and the others but Homika stepped in and stopped them. And she said you also were planning to hand over Iris to Team Rocket as well."

She shook her head. "She only said that because she's jealous. She's prone to that. Why would I try to betray your friends to Team Rocket? I know how important your friends are to you and that's the last thing I would want to do. Don't you trust me?"

"I'm not sure I can—"

She touched his hand and smiled at him. "So…what can I do to earn your trust?"

"Untying me would help. We still have—"

"I can't do that. Not yet."

"Why? You still haven't told me where we are and why I have to be tied up? Wasting time here."

She let out a sigh. "We're in Sinnoh. And I have you tied up…because you'll only go back to her and she'll hurt you again and I'm really afraid what will happen if that happens. You're a really kind person but…a bit naïve and something like that…"

"You make it sound like you've known me a bit longer than you let on," he said with a laugh.

"Because I have. I knew you since you were a kid. You used to love riding your skateboard on the routes in and around New Bark. You loved speeding past the Pokemon in the field, teasing them as you went by, daring them to attack but not being quick enough to catch you. You never had an interest in becoming a serious trainer or even someone good enough to become a Champion. You never saw me but I was often following you behind, admiring you so much. It was so great to know there was someone out there who wasn't interested in becoming a trainer."

"Wait…what, how do you know about that?"

She walked over to him and sat down in his lap, cradling her arms around his neck. "I already told you silly, you didn't notice me because I was usually following behind you. I was too shy to try speak with you so I had to content myself with that."

"Yea but—"

"And then my cousin Crystal…she dragged you away. Dragged you away on her journey to become the Champion."

"I wouldn't say she dragged me. I kind of made the choice myself to tag along—"

"After she convinced you to. If she hadn't, you would have never left on that journey. You would have gone on to do something else but it wouldn't involve trying to become the Champion. And…I would have gained the courage to talk to you," she said. She sighed and looked at him.

"Well perhaps you're right but—"

"But things can be different, I know it! Tell me, before Homika told you those lies, did you enjoy being with me? Wasn't I everything you've wanted?"

Ugh, he really didn't want to answer that. He wasn't even sure what to think. "I…don't know."

She giggled and tugged on his neck, bringing their faces closer. "Silly, you know. You really did like me, though I have to apologize for being a bit too affectionate. I know it was a bit too much but I was just so happy to be with you again. It's been too long and I didn't want to lose you again, you know?"

"Yes but—"

"But I know just the thing!" She said as she let go of his neck and hopped off his lap. "I know I can't change what happened, it's in the past. However…if I got you to forget all those bad things…"

"Forget? How do you plan to do that? And what if I don't want to—"

"It's for your own good E! Won't you trust me?"

He laughed. "Well getting me to forget stuff means you're probably going to hit me in the head again."

"I'm sorry—"

"If you are, please let me go. We really don't have—"

"Trust me, this won't take long. Then we can go back and show Team Rocket who is boss. You won't remember Homika, Jasmine or anyone else for that matter."

That caused his head to clear up in an instant. "Wait, what? What are you about to do?"

"They're awful but one of the first Pokemon Team Rocket experimented on…was a Hypno. I think they were wondering if a Pokemon that could feed off dreams, could also feed off the memories of others as well. It was a pretty interesting study. They were hoping to do it to get formidable trainers on their side but called it off when they realized it wasn't going like they wanted."

"Wiping my memory?"

She giggled. "Yes, it's the only way to save you. It won't hurt and—"

"But…if you're in love with me, how do you know I'll still turn out to be the same person if my memory is gone?"

She looked at him, mouth open. "H-huh, but—"

"What if I turn out to be someone you hate? Then what will you do?"

She shook her head. "You won't turn into someone I hate. You can't! It won't happen!"

"So you've done this before?"

"N-no."

"Oh."

"But from what I read, it shouldn't happen. You'll be okay; you just won't remember much of anything. And that's fine. It's better that way."

"I like my memories though. Why are you doing this? If you really cared for me, you would be happy, regardless who I'm with or what not. And you aren't getting me to trust you if you're trying to wipe my memory."

She sighed. "I'm sorry but I can't let you go back either."

"Yea but they'll get worried and try to find me. And then what?"

She laughed. "I can handle them just fine. They aren't going to take you away from me, not after all I've done."

"You think I can trust you after all of this?"

"N-no. Not at all. I-I really am crazy. Crazy about you. I don't care if you aren't the same person after I wipe your memory, I'll still be with you even when no one else will."

She walked away and he tried to struggle again. As he did, he felt something rolling around on his head and remembered he had left Pitch's ball underneath his hat. He tossed his head forward, causing the cap to fall off, along with the Pokeball. It fell on its button, summoning Pitch at once. Pitch flew out and let out a chirp of surprise. "Hey, quiet it down and get me free okay?" He said in a hushed tone.

"What was that? It sounded like a bird," Lyra said. Pitch flew behind him and began to tear away at the ropes. She walked back over. "What was that sound—hey, where did this Pokeball come from?"

Pitch cut loose the ropes around his arms and fluttered down to take care of the ropes around his ankles. "Huh, oh that Pokeball? Isn't it yours? I think you dropped it."

She looked at it and picked it up. "Huh, I don't remember dropping a Pokeball though. I would have noticed if I did."

"Pokeballs are pretty light though. I've had some drop from my belt a few times and if I hadn't heard it fall, I might have missed it."

She looked it over a few times and her eyes lit up. "Hey, wait a minute…the button isn't lit. This is empty! I don't carry empty Pokeballs on me," she said, just as Pitch cut the ropes around his ankles free and he folded his arms across his chest. She looked over and noticed as Pitch returned to his usual perch. "W-w-where did he come from? I thought I took all your Pokeballs away, I know it!"

He picked up the cap off the ground and put it back on his head. "I'm not about to tell you where I hid him. You just didn't do a good enough search!"

She began to back away. "I-I…ahh…"

He walked up to her and pointed a finger in her face. "Now can I get my Pokemon back, along with my Pokedex and my phone?"

She shook her head. "N-no!"

Pitch let out a furious chirp but he looked at him and laughed. He looked back at her. "If you don't, I hate you forever."

"N-no. Please don't hate me! I really didn't mean any harm, I just…just—"

"Well…if you want to go back to earning my trust and maybe…maybe getting on my good side, you'll give me back my stuff and let me free. That's the only way I might think about trusting you again."

She looked down at the ground, not answering him for a bit. Pitch wanted him to yell at her but he had a better idea. He reached over and propped up her chin with his fingers. She looked up at him and he smiled at her. "Will you?"

"I…will you really trust me again if I do?"

He let go of her chin and folded his arms. "Maybe but we won't know until you give me my stuff back and let me go."

"Ahhh…okay."

Well that wasn't too hard. She walked away and soon returned with a small backpack that resembled his old one. She opened it up and he could see some Pokeballs inside, along with his phone and Pokedex. He took it and she smiled at him. He didn't feel like returning the gesture. "Thanks…now how do I get back to Unova?"

"I…don't know. I used a flying Pokemon to get here…but I let it go. You'll have to get back another way. I'm sorry."

"Yea…that's what you keep telling me."

"I…really am. Please don't hate me…I'm sorry. Just don't hate me."

He looked at Pitch and sighed. "I don't think I can really hate anyone. You just aren't my favorite person right now."

They left the building and found themselves in the middle of a snowstorm. To his relief, the wind wasn't blowing all that much but it had been so long since he had been in the stuff, not since he was last in Sinnoh. Too bad no one remembered about it. Pitch let out a chirp. "Yea, it is pretty cold but Sinnoh is like that. Be glad you haven't been to Mount Coronet, the snowstorms are even worse up there!"

They walked along for a while until they entered what looked like a large snowfield. To the east he could see the mountain range that split Sinnoh down the middle, though they resembled foothills more than mountains. Then it began to dawn on him. "Hey, I think I remember where we are. In fact, we aren't all that far from Snowpoint!"

Pitch let out a chirp and he laughed. "Oh it's a town in Sinnoh, covered in snow. I know you aren't a fan of it but like I said, Sinnoh is a lot colder than everywhere else. We can take a boat from there and get to a city to the south where we can catch a flight…or something back to Unova."

They walked by a large log cabin but as he began to shiver, he decided to go back. He remembered quite a few cabins set up where trainers could warm up in since the snowfield was so large. He walked over to the door, just as it opened and Maylene stepped out. "Oh, hi. Do you need to rest inside?"

"Yea, it's a bit too cold for me. I forgot how chilly it could be here."

Maylene looked back inside the cabin. "Uh, Candice? A trainer wants to use the cabin now," she said. He sighed as she referred to him just as a trainer. It would have been nice if anyone but him and a few others remembered what happened in the changed world but it seemed that just wasn't the case. She looked back at him and frowned. "You know…I have this sinking feeling that we've known each other before."

"Oh…well I think we've battled once before—"

"Well…no. I mean I don't usually remember trainers I've battled but I mean I…hmmm, so weird. I wonder…"

"Huh, a trainer? It's been awhile since we've had any new trainers coming through. It's like they've all become a bunch of cowards! It's only a little snow!"

Candice hopped out of the cabin, beaming with pride. "Well I don't know. I think he's new but I swear we've met."

She looked up at him. "H-huh? You know, I usually don't forget a face but I feel like I don't know you and yet…I do? Ahh Candice, you're so silly!"

Pitch and him exchanged a look. "Well…" he began to say before he decided to shut up. Yea they had met before, in fact the three of them along with Volkner and Flint were the ones who had stopped Team Galactic and returned things to normal. And all of them had a pretty touching goodbye when they realized they might not remember their adventures when the world returned to normal. She had even given him a goodbye kiss. He chuckled. "I was just one of those trainers who came through, challenging all the gyms and such."

"You did? I would remember. Candice has an awesome memory! I don't forget trainers! I…just don't remember that Pokemon you have with you. What is it?"

"He's from Unova actually. He's a Rufflet but I call him Pitch. I had another team once upon a time, and my main Pokemon was a Wigglytuff named Wiggler."

Candice and Maylene exchanged a look. She folded her arms, growing silent for a bit. Maylene laughed. "Wow…well you've done what I can't do. Get Candice to be quiet."

"She really seems more like a fire type gym leader than ice."

"You got that right but you know how…hard it is to calm her down?"

"Hey, why are you two talking about me, behind my back? Except when I'm like…facing the both of you? Candice thinks that's a bit rude!"

Maylene sighed and put her face in her palm. "Nothing."

Candice pointed her finger at him. "You know May, I do think I remember him…I know I should remember him but somehow I don't. And I hate that! Candice isn't that forgetful!"

Pitch let out a chirp with a phrase only Mika would say and he laughed. "Don't worry about it. Sorry to bother you two. I need to rest up a bit and then figure out how to get back to Unova."

She put her hands on her hips, "Well old friend who Candice doesn't remember but knows she should…what were you doing out in Unova?"

"Well…trying to stop Team Rocket for one."

Maylene sighed. "I thought they had been defeated. Wait…weren't you the one who helped to defeat them? If they're back, that means you didn't do a good enough job, right?"

"Giovanni is just that determined. They've taken over the Pokemon League, most of the gyms and even an entire city! Me and my friends have been trying to turn them back ever since, making slow but steady progress."

"Then…what are you doing out here?"

Pitch and him exchanged looks. "A long long story. I don't feel like going over it," he said. He looked over at Candice and notice she seemed to be struggling, like she had a headache or something the way she had her hand in her forehead. Maylene noticed too and looked over at her friend.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine! Just fine. Go on, don't worry about me!"

Maylene shrugged and turned back to him. "Team Rocket? You know…now that I think about it, I heard a rumor about someone saying they saw a Team Rocket member to the southwest of here."

To the southwest? Well that wasn't from where he had come from. "Really?"

"Yea but it was just a rumor floating around. No one believed it since we all figured Team Rocket was dead. Now that you've said they're back…"

"You know…maybe we should check that out."

"We?"

He laughed. "Well I mean me and my team. It's worth looking into, at least while I'm here."

"You haven't even told us your name!" Candice said. It looked like she was doing better.

"Oh, it's Ethan."

"Urgh…why…oh why can't I scratch that itch? I hear that name and I know I should remember and yet I can't! It's super, utterly annoying! I almost want to Hyper Beam a boulder!"

"You're hopeless," Maylene said while he laughed.

"Don't worry about it! Just thinking about it has me pumped! Thanks for the tip, I'm gonna go check it out!"

"Wait, hold up! Cut the phone! Stop the bus! Disable the Run Away button! Candice is gonna shoot you a Mean Look!"

"What?" Ethan and Maylene said together. She laughed and put her hands on her hips.

"Well Ethan, old friend which I have trouble remembering, do you mind if we tag along? I think if we help you out, maybe I can remember! And if criminals are involved, we can give them the one two KO!"

Pitch let out a chirp, wondering if she was always that crazy but before he could answer him, his phone rang. "Umm, could you two hold on for just a minute?"

"Yea," Maylene said.

He nodded and walked away a few yards before answering it. "Hel—"

"Ethan, where are you?" Homika yelled into the phone. He winced a bit.

"A little quieter please, my head still hurts."

"Your head?"

"You can thank Lyra for that one. I'm not in Unova anymore."

"What?"

"I'm in Sinnoh, she dragged me there. I guess she intended to keep me there, at least until she could wipe my memory and stuff."

"E, I know I'm trying to mellow out…but I'm so gonna kill her. I'm gonna take my electric guitar—"

"Please don't. I was able to talk her into letting me go. Maybe if we just leave her alone, she'll retain her sanity. Or something."

She grumbled. "Well…whatever. If you say so, I still hate her. So you're stuck in Sinnoh, I take it that you'll be over there a bit until you find a way back?"

"Oh I've been here before so I know how I can get back. It will take a little time so I trust you girls can hold down the fort while I'm away. I'm actually following up on a lead here, maybe another Team Rocket operation. Just a rumor but I figure while I'm stuck here, I might as well look into it."

"Well…okay. We'll manage over here. I just…oh never mind. I'm glad you're okay, I was really worried. Please don't tell me you tried to confront her—"

"She knocked me out and kidnapped me. I wasn't even looking for her. I was exploring the gym and she ambushed me."

"So I guess you've got some help over there?"

"Yea, a couple of gym leaders."

"A couple of girl gym leaders."

"H-huh?"

Homika chuckled. "All right my playboy. We'll manage over here," she said. He hung up a bit later and then walked over to the duo. "So that's that."

"Who was that?"

"Oh, just Homika—"

"You mean that crazy rock star? You know her?"

He laughed. "You could say that."

Candice shook her head. "You know a lot of interesting people. Team Rocket, us and even that loony rock star."

"And you of all people call her loony," Maylene said.

"Have you seen her on stage? Drinking blood, burning her guitar and pretending she's summoning spirits from the flames or humping her guitar while—"

"Too much information Candice!"

"Well I didn't know about some of that stuff. I'm going to have to ask her. So you two want to help?"

Maylene shrugged. "Eh…sure. This does take place in Candice's area so we kind of have to check into it as gym leaders."

"Lance will give us a tongue lashing if we let a Johto trainer handle things that we should be looking into. And he's a scary guy!"

"But you have Ice Pokemon."

"But he's a Champion…you know how much they like to cheat! He's hacked his Pokemon so they all have fire attacks, even the ones that can't learn them! Cand—I mean I know from experience."

Maylene let out a sigh. "Can we just get going? Once she gets started…"

"Has she always been like this? I think I remember—"

"Nah, for some reason, she's gotten worse. She used to do it for fun but sometimes she just talks nonsense. I really can't remember what caused her to go off on these tangents."

"Huh, interesting."


	13. Chapter 13

"So Candice…I've already explained the situation to you two but I'm curious, did Homika really do a lot of that stuff on stage? I know she was a little—"

"Little? She was soo outlandish. Candice was utterly shocked with the stuff she would do. Like I said, she would burn her guitars on stage and pretend she was summoning spirits from it. She would even cackle and laugh like a mad villain! It was scary. And then when she would really get into the music, she would start humping and grinding against her guitar! Well actually I thought it was kind of hot—"

"Hey, I don't want to hear that!" Maylene yelled.

"Candice thinks she's just frustrated or something. I don't understand it; she's a mega rock star. They can get all the—"

"Candice!"

"Sorry May but I was just curious."

"Why are you curious about the crazy antics of a rock star?"

Candice laughed. "Come on May-May, it's only right that her boyfriend would ask about it! I mean if my girlfriend was a rock star known for her crazy antics, I'd might want to know—"

"Well I think I've heard enough," he said with a laugh.

"Are you sure? Because—"

"Candice, have you ever heard of corrupting a minor?"

"But, who's the minor?"

"I am!" Maylene said. She shook her head.

Pitch let out a chirp and he narrowed his eyes. "Huh, I don't see anything. You said you could see some buildings?"

Pitch let out another chirp and he nodded. "Well he says he sees something in the near distance. I'll take his word for it."

"It's snowing worse than a frustrated Articuno chasing after a female Dodrio!"

"Please don't explain that."

He walked ahead of Maylene and struggled to see through the falling snow. "It really is a bit bad. When might it let up?"

"Doubt it will. Maybe for a short time but it'll start up again."

"Yea, I remember that. I guess that's why northern Sinnoh is always covered in snow."

They looked at him. "You remember? I thought you said you were just a trainer challenging all the gym leaders. That kind of detail isn't something I'd expect a passerby to remember," Maylene said. "Unless you like to learn everything you can about the regions you travel to? Most trainers don't if—"

"Well ahh you know…oh never mind, you two wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Believe what? That we had to run around and try to find out how to return the world back to normal after Team Galactic changed it with the help of Arceus?" Candice asked. She put a hand on her hip. "Please don't tell me you forgot."

"Ahhh well…I guess you got me," he said. "I just played dumb because—"

"Because people would think you're crazy? I mean who would believe that? That the world was changed and you had to make sure it was changed to normal? That's super crazy talk! That like a super mega awful comic book plot where the writer is on crack, sipping rum and—"

"We get it," Maylene said. She folded her arms. "That's cool. I really thought we were the only two who remembered. Even Volkner and Flint don't seem to remember it. Only me and Candice."

"People thought I was sipping the happy juice so I figured…maybe I was!"

"Don't tell me…that you were acting all crazy because it was your way of coping."

"Ha…well something like that I suppose. I mean you've got to admit, it has to be super mega frustrating to have all these adventures, to go through all that hard work and because of what you did, basically hitting the reset button on a video game system, no one will ever remember. You only have your memories of it and that's it!"

He and Maylene nodded. "Yea, exactly. It is pretty annoying but it's cool that you two forgot. I thought only me and my Pokemon remembered."

"Well then I can be even more silly now! Woo-hoo!"

"Glad to hear," Maylene said.

After about a half hour, they reached what looked like a bunch of labs. All three buildings resembled large domes, grouped around a large and empty parking lot. Or at least that's what he thought, he couldn't really tell thanks to all the snow. "Good job Pitch."

Pitch let out an annoyed chirp and he laughed. "Yea, it is getting a bit too cold for me too."

He felt Candice slap him on the shoulder. "Too cold? Too cold? Look at me! If I can walk around in a shirt and miniskirt, you can too!"

"I don't want to see him wearing a skirt."

"Huh? But you hardly ever see any trainers wearing kilts! I think he has the—"

"Candice!"

He ignored the two of them and walked over to one of the buildings. He tried to open the door but when he tried to turn the icy cold knob, it refused to turn. He tried it a few times more but to no avail. "Let me handle it," Maylene said. He stepped aside as she summoned her Lucario. "Hey Luc, could you open that door for us?"

Lucario nodded and with a few karate chops, knocked the door down for them. She flashed him a thumbs up and he smiled at him as well. "Thanks. I don't think any of my Pokemon could have done it."

"You need a Fighting Pokemon."

He laughed. "Everyone has a suggestion for my last Pokemon but I promised Homika I would add a poison type."

"Poison? Well I guess that's a decent type…"

"Oh come on May-May, poison is a good type! Sure it has plenty of weaknesses but if you can poison a Pokemon, you can get somewhere! Even I fear them once in awhile!"

Maylene shrugged. "Well…whatever."

He stepped inside the building and switched on the lights. Inside were a bunch of desks with computers, including several large super computers in the middle. Pitch took the skies and flew around the room a few times before returning to him with a report. "Well it looks like these are just the offices."

"Wow, and they look like they've been used recently."

"Yep! Looks like they were pretty sure about not being detected by anyone. Maybe we can really get some stuff. Hey Pitch, did you notice any cameras around?"

"I wonder if all of these labs are like all of the ones in the movies? Where somewhere and somehow, they have a special big red button, the one spoke about in hushed tones. And when the good guys stumble across their secret lab and start to discover their utterly secret and mega awesome plans, then BOOM! They blow up the lab and send everyone to kingdom come!" Candice said.

"Are you trying to—"

"Yea I see your point Candice but this is Team Rocket and Giovanni. His ego won't let me die in a self-destructing lab. The only suitable result for him is beating me in a battle."

Candice leaned over and smiled. "Oh, really? So he sees you as his worth opponent then? Well you know what happens to those bad guys! They're so obsessed with beating the hero that they refuse to take the smarter route and just shoot them when they have the chance!"

"Candice…what—"

"Well I'm so glad he isn't that smart. If I were in his position, I would shoot me dead as well. Or just crush me before my Pokemon get too strong."

"Hey you two! We're supposed to be investigating here, not debating crack theories!"

He laughed. "Sorry. Well let's split up, I'll look over here on the left side."

He walked over to some of the computers and pecked at the keys, causing the startup screen to come up, asking for a password. He ignored those ones, figuring he'd have no hope of figuring the password out. Pitch let out a suggestion and he shook his head. "No, I think these computers have the latest software or else I could just skip the password screen with the cancel button."

He grabbed one of the keyboards and turned it over. Pitch let out a chirp and he laughed. "Well I was just thinking…everyone is supposed to have memorized their passwords but I bet there was someone short sighted enough to tape it on the bottom. Even I've done it once or twice!"

That keyboard didn't have it but after he checked a few more, he came across one that had the password carved into the bottom. He memorized it and put it into the computer. He smiled as the computer went pass the startup screen and suddenly several windows popped up. He leaned forward to get a better look and noticed they appeared to be designs for Pokemon. "Huh, interesting."

"Did you find something?"

"I…think I did," he said, while still looking at the screen. Maylene and Candice walked over and the three studied the designs of the Pokemon on screen. For some reason, they all looked real familiar but he couldn't imagine where.

"You know…maybe it's just me but…doesn't one of those look like it could have been a Steelix?"

Maylene leaned forward, putting her hand on his back to steady herself. "A Steelix? Yea, I guess I can see it."

"And that one looks like it could be a…Tauros?"

He nodded. "I can see that…wait. What?"

"Huh, and that appears to be a Raichu. I think. What do you think Candice?"

"Looks like a chubby electric mouse thingy to me!"

"A chubby what?"

Candice laughed as she leaned on him. "It's a mouse, can't you see it?"

"Well it's a bit big to be a mouse."

"Well of course. If I saw a mouse that big in my house, I'd grab a chair and beat it senseless! Candice might even get a bat and…batter up! Pow, and you'll finally get a chance to watch a mouse fly!"

"All of these Pokemon…don't you two see?"

"The chubby mouse?"

"No. I mean all of these Pokemon are from my old team, the ones that were stolen from me! Well, I did get Rai back eventually but that's it."

"Wait…are you saying Team Rocket is experimenting on your Pokemon, like how you said they were doing with other Pokemon?" Maylene asked. He looked up at her and nodded.

"Looks like it to me. And they all seem to be wearing the same strange collar. I wonder what's up with that?"

"Why would Team Rocket do this?"

"I don't know. Seems a bit petty if you ask me. Maybe they want to force me to have to fight my old team. That would be a pretty jerkish move if you ask me."

"Wow, this Team Rocket is pretty crazy! I mean they're so angry with you beating them that they would experiment on your Pokemon and force them to fight against you? What did you do? Did you eat all their lunches in the fridge? Cut them in line at the store? Maybe—"

"So…well at least I know where they went. I hope they survived, I know not all of the test subjects have survived their twisted experiments."

He sat up and sighed. "Hey, it's okay! I bet they're still alive and when you free them, you can give Team Rocket a knockout straight to the kisser! Pow! Biff! Bopp and all that—"

"Let's just keep looking around for any more," Maylene said.

After a little more, they came across something about those strange collars he had noticed. "Well I guess they are mind control devices. I guess they need them because your Pokemon wouldn't fight you anyway. Looks like they could be used to wipe someone's memory too."

"Wow, Team Rocket is crazy," Candice, said. He nodded, still bugged a bit that Team Rocket would force him to fight his old team. She looked at him. "Everything okay?"

"Yea, yea…no. I guess I just didn't expect them to be that determined to get revenge on me. I know Giovanni wanted it but this seems a bit much to do all of this. What do they hope to do?"

"Well…the way Candice—I mean I see it, they hope you fight against your old team but become emotional because of it. You get emotional, and then you get depressed because you can't fight them. And when you're depressed, you push away your friends. And when you push away your friends, you become more depressed. And when you're more depressed, you don't think straight. And when you don't think straight, you become mentally damaged. And when you're mentally damaged, you don't think straight. And E-E, when you don't think straight, you make stupid decisions like joining Team Rocket!"

Pitch, Maylene and he looked at her with dumbfounded looks all across the board. No one spoke up for awhile until Maylene said something. "Well…that's one way of looking at it but did you have to map it out step by step?"

"Well I wanted to illustrate every step he could take on that slippery, slick and steep slope from being a good and nice guy and to an evil, bitter and horribly insane Team Rocket mega villain!"

"O…kay, well I'm just gonna print out this page then."

"Did it say anything else about the collar on there?" He asked. Maylene looked over at him and nodded.

"Yep. From what it says, there isn't a way of breaking a Pokemon out of its control unless you can get it off. And getting it off is another problem altogether, as it's made of pure diamond. Well…actually they said if one uses the enhanced Hypno, you could free it from mind control. An enhanced Hypno?"

He chuckled. "I think I know someone who could help us out with that one."

Maylene shrugged. "Well, I'm just gonna print this out. Any luck on your end Candice?"

"Nope! No luck!"

"That's okay, I think we're good here. We should check out the other buildings just in case there is something there."

The next building had a lot less desks and resembled more of a lab. A horrific lab though. Everywhere he turned, he saw a table with a poor Pokemon sprawled out on it, with tons of tubes sticking out of it, and tables littered with medical tools that gave you chills just looking at them, wondering just where they would use such a thing. Pitch let out a sickened chirp and he pat his head. In the middle of the lab sat a large circular pool of water, though it was dark and poorly lit so he couldn't even see into it much. "This is like a terrible and horrible horror movie."

"I'm with you…why are they doing this?" Maylene asked. He and Pitch exchanged a look.

"Man, they really didn't take that last defeat very well."

"Poor losers I say. If you got beat before by some kid and his pocket sized party of trained killers, I think it's time to pack up shop, sell the farm and retire to sunny Hoehn! Maybe buy a nice piece of property and play lots of bingo and shuffleboard! Swim with the—"

"Okay, we get it," Maylene said but he smiled.

"Yea, it is pretty silly. So what will they do if they get beat this time? How low can they go?"

"You know what I think?" Candice asked. Maylene shot her a look saying she didn't want to know what she thought but with him egging her on, she wasn't about to stop. "I think if this evil mob boss Gio losses to Ethan again, he's going to snap and he'll become a mess. He'll become an alcoholic, a drug addict and maybe even a veggie! He'll be such a slobbering mess that Team Rocket will be done forever!"

"I don't know about that…"

"You don't? If he can't beat Ethan's inexperienced team of Pokemon with his game genie hacked God, uber Pokemon of awesomeness…then how will he beat him? Begging?"

Maylene folded her arms. "Well…I guess I see your over emphasized point. Hopefully he will give it up after this."

Candice walked over to the pool. "I wonder what is in here?"

Pitch let out a terrified chirp and he looked over at him. "You saw something in there?"

"I wonder if this is where they dump people into?"

"What?" Maylene asked while he continued to poke around the lab for anything useful.

"Well you know how in all those spy movies where the mad super villains capture the heroes and put them into one of their death traps? Well one of them is dipping the poor heroes into a tank full of shark-infested waters! How much do you want to bet there are some Sharpedo in there?"

He took out the Pokeball with Bolt and summoned the little mite. He whispered a command to him and he bounced away toward some wiring, though neither of the girls noticed him. "Sharpedo, are you serious?"

"Yes!"

"That's your worst crack theory yet. Where do you get all of these crazy ideas? What are you smoking?" Maylene asked.

"Well I'm just saying…why else would they have this pool here?"

"I don't know but I doubt they would store Sharpedo in there, it's too small! And why would they dump people in here anyway—"

Before she could finish, Pitch let out another chirp, just as a Red Gyrados rose out of the water with a loud roar. Maylene and Candice jumped away as it turned to face them. Pitch let out a terrified chirp but he didn't even move a muscle. He winked at Pitch as the Gyrados turned his attention to him. It roared at him, just as they heard a spark. Suddenly a large bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere, zapping the water serpent. In fact, it was so strong that it knocked out the power to a few nearby computers, causing them to smoke. He stepped back as it let out a loud cry and slumped to the ground with a loud thud. "What was that? Where did that electric attack come from?"

He laughed. "That would be my little mite, Bolt. He's actually a Joltik and they come from Unova."

"A mite? Well that's new. I didn't even see you summon him, is he that small?" Maylene asked with a smile. He nodded.

"Little mite, little mite, does whatever a little mite can do. Spins a web, any size. Catches things just like flies—"

"Are you singing?" Maylene asked in horror. He waved her off.

"No, no…I like where this is going. Do you know the rest of the lyrics Candice?"

She beamed with pride. "Oh you bet! I can make up a whole song for your…little…" she began to say but started to stutter when Bolt made his appearance. Except he wasn't little anymore. He had transformed into a 2 feet big yellow tarantula, with four small eyes between his two main ones and blue fur sticking out from its abdomen. Pitch let out a surprised chirp. "Wow…so you said he evolved into a what?"

"What is it?"

"A Gallantly. It's what he evolves into. I just didn't expect him to get so big, he used to be the size of a penny."

Candice crawled over to Bolt and reached over to pet it but he cleared his throat. "Huh?"

"He's part electric. If you touch him, you might get quite the shock. I wouldn't be surprised to see that he can generate his own electricity now. When he was a Joltik, he had to absorb it off other sources so he could attack."

She drew back her hand. "Oh…wow. May-May, I think we need to take a trip to Unova soon! We can check out all the new Pokemon and I can meet Homika!"

Maylene folded her arms while Bolt returned to him. He didn't bother petting the spider but he smiled at him. "Good job Bolt," he said. Sparks formed around Bolt's body but he seemed pleased to help.

"I don't get it, why do you want to meet her? I thought you said she was too crazy?"

"But she's so cute! I just want to hug her! And squeeze her! And…hey E-E, you think you could arrange a meeting between the two of us? You could be my wingman!"

He summoned Bolt back to his ball. "W-what?"

She winked at him. "My wingman! You know like how if you're in a bar and you see a super mega awesome cutie but you don't know how to approach her? Well you're wingman is the one who helps you speak with her so the two of you can talk! Except you're gonna be trying to hook me up with Homika!"

Pitch let out a chirp with a phrase only Homika would say and he shook his head. "Well…I guess though she isn't fond of super dedicated fans. I guess I could put in a good word for you."

"That mega awesome! I can't wait to meet her!"

"Wait, but you said you wanted to hook up with her," Maylene said. Candice laughed.

"Don't worry May-May! I'm sure Ethan won't mind if we swap partners for a short time!"

"W-what?" He asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well—"

"Candice, don't even finish that!" Maylene said. She shook her head. "Jasmine is gonna kill me if she found out you corrupted his poor mind."

He shook his head. "Well I haven't found anything useful here so—"

"Why are you so embarrassed May-May? You wouldn't want to spend a day or two with Ethan? He can bring your girly side out, you're too much of a tomboy, you know? I mean I know you like being the dom but—"

"Candice, come here," Maylene said. She walked over to Candice and dragged her out of the room. He and Pitch exchange a look.

"Should I ask? Or am I better off not knowing?"

Pitch let him know that he'd be better off not knowing so he walked around the lab some more. He came across a folder lying atop a cabinet and opened it up. Inside were some designs for other Pokemon, more forced evolutions from Team Rocket including a new evolution for Garchomp, Metagross and Salamence. "It looks like they're focusing on making traditionally strong Pokemon, even tougher. A lot of these Pokemon were pretty tough to beat already; I can only imagine how they'll be now. Ugh, it's so disgusting they would do this, you know?"

Pitch let out a chirp of agreement. "You know, it's pretty funny but in a way, Lyra did us a favor. Now we know even more what to expect and we can be better prepared!"

He put some of the other papers they had collected into the folder. "You know Pitch, I really think we're gonna have to go back to Lyra and get that Hypno from her. If we can use it to break Pokemon free from those mind control thingies, that will make our lives much more easier, you know?"

Pitch let out a terrified chirp. "I'm not going there alone mind you. I'll ask Maylene and Candice to tag along. I'm not going there alone."

He looked over at the Gyrados, who began to stir. "Oh I guess he has begun to recover."

The Gyrados sat up and gave a weak roar in his direction before slipping back underwater again. He heard the door open and saw Maylene walk in. "Back…where did that Gyrados go?"

"He went back inside the pool. He doesn't seem eager to fight again. I guess he remembered that shock pretty good. Where is Candice?"

"She's sitting outside. I've banished her there."

Something told me that wasn't all she did to Candice but he wasn't about to push the issue further. "Well, unless there is anything in that last building, I was hoping if you two could accompany to one more place."

"Sure but what is it?"

"Well the reports said that the collars can be overruled by an enhanced Hypno and I know someone who has one. I just…don't want to try confronting her by myself. She's a wee bit on the dangerous side."

"Oh sure! Why is she so dangerous though?"

"It's a long story."

The last building didn't really have anything important or useful so they began to make the trek back north. Along the way he told them about Lyra. "Wow, she sounds as sane as a Mr. Mimi on a bender!"

"I saw it coming," Maylene said as she put her hands behind her head.

"Huh, what do you mean by that?"

She sighed. "You have to ask Mr. Playboy?"

"But I'm not a Playboy. I didn't even know her! She had a crush on me for the longest but because she never spoke up to me, I never even knew about her."

"You know, maybe this is my crack theory—"

"Aren't the only theories you have, crack theories?"

"Ignoring that, uhhh you think that maybe when we got Arceus to change the world back to normal, there were some unintended consequences? How does she go from having an innocent crush to becoming a dangerous stalker who is willing to kidnap the object of her crush and plan to wipe his mind?"

"It could happen. Especially if she constantly tried to talk to him but something came up to prevent her. Perhaps it just built up over time."

"Ahhh well…oh well. I see why Ethan doesn't want to meet her alone. I bet she would just tie him up again. Maybe drug him so he won't resist and then she'll—"

"What if she isn't there?"

"I think she will be."

When they arrived at the building where Lyra had held him, they found her sitting outside, plucking at the petals of a large flower. Actually as they got closer, he saw it was a Sunkern doll. Yet that didn't stop her from ripping off each petal and tossing it aside. "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me—"

"You have got to be kidding me," Maylene said. Lyra turned her head and her eyes lit up.

"Ethan! You came back!" She said as she got to her feet and hurried over. Maylene stepped forward and put out her hand, stopping Lyra in her tracks.

"Hey, what's going on Ethan? Who is this?"

"We aren't here for you go gush over him. We need something from you?"

"From me?"

"We need that Hypno you have," he said. Lyra's mouth fell open before she folded her arms.

"But I need that to wipe—I mean, you can't have it! I still need it!"

"But I would really appreciate it," he said. Lyra shook her head.

"Never. Even if I love you E, I can't let you have it. No can do. I'm sorry, I really am!" She said before hurrying back inside the building. He and Pitch exchanged a look.

"Well that went well."

"You know, I think I know how we can get that Pokemon!" Candice said.

"What?"

She walked forward with a mischievous look on her face. "Well, we just have to bargain with her! And lucky for us, we have the perfect bargaining chip! It's so perfect that if we put it up, she can't refuse!"

"We do?" Ethan and Maylene asked in unison. Candice nodded and pointed at him.

"You! We have you!"

"I…don't like that plan."

Candice laughed. "We just promise her something, like you go on a date with her or something and she can't help to refuse!"

"I don't want to do that!"

"Well you could always seduce her."

Maylene slapped her forehead. "You have got to be kidding me."

Candice walked over to him and pulled him closer. "Trust me, it's easy! Here is what you do, you walk up to the door and call her out and then you emphasize how much you need the Hypno and how much you would appreciate it. Tease her a bit, touch her…maybe even kiss her. I bet she won't be able to resist! I bet she would even appreciate it! I mean it's probably better than promising her something you really don't want to do."

"Well…"

"Just give it a shot!" Candice said as she walked away. Maylene shot her a look.

"What did you tell me?"

"Just seduce her. I gave him all the pointers he needs! Give it your best shot Ethan!"

"Ethan couldn't seduce anyone if he tried! He gets girls to fall in love with him by being a dork!"

"Now wait just a minute…I bet I could do it! I don't know how…but I could!"

Maylene folded her arms and laughed. "Okay, I got to see this!"

He gathered in a big breath and let it out. "Okay, watch me!"

He walked over to the door and knocked on it. "Yes?"

"Lyra, can you come out? We need to talk."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"All right, fine. If that's what you want," he said as he turned his back. The door opened a minute or two later and he spun around. She stood in the doorway, arms behind her back. "Ahh nice to see you decided to open it up, I would have hated to have Maylene have her Pokemon knock the door down."

She sighed. "I'm sorry E but—"

"I know you want to use that Hypno for other purposes but we could really use it. Team Rocket has my old team and is using the collars to keep them under mind control. And one of the ways to break them out of it, is with that Hypno."

"I'm sorry."

"You know how important those Pokemon were to me, don't you want to—"

"No."

He sighed. They weren't getting anywhere. She had made up her mind and that was that. Was he really gonna have to go through with it? "Lyra."

"Huh?"

"What would it take for you to give us that Hypno?"

She thought about it and shook her head. "Nothing. There is nothing you could give me. Even if you promised to be with me forever, I wouldn't let it go."

"Why?"

She gave him a faint smile. "Because I still need it."

"You know, I might give you a chance to redeem your—"

"I don't care about redeeming myself. I'm a crazy lunatic but I'll eventually have you. You will be mine—"

"Oh forget this. We're just gonna take it. Try and stop us," Maylene said.

"You do that and I'm blowing the lab up! I have a way of doing it!"

He leaned forward and tickled her chin. "You won't do it. Then you'll kill me and do you want that? Then what will you do?"

"I'll…get over it!" She said.

He sighed and turned away. "Hey Maylene, why don't you hold her while me and Candice go inside and fetch that Hypno?"

"N-no! I won't let you!" Lyra said as she slammed the door shut. They heard the door lock. Maylene walked up to the door and tapped it with her bare foot.

"She's an annoying little bugger. Where do you pick up these characters Ethan?"

"I…don't know. You think she's interesting, you should have met Homika before she mellowed out."

Maylene turned and with a few powerful kicks, knocked the door open. Lyra stumbled backwards and fell to the ground as Maylene strode forward and grabbed her in a headlock. "H-h-hey, let me go!"

"May-May will let you go after we get what we want!" Candice said. He chuckled.

"Sorry Lyra but it's for the best."

He turned on the lights and saw that the place was pretty empty except for a few chairs lying around a large table in the back, with a bunch of Pokeballs atop it. As he picked them up, he noticed many of them were empty. "Hey, why are all these empty?"

"Ummm…I forgot."

"Yea, right."

"Well look here, I think I found one that isn't empty!" Candice said. She held it out but instead of a Hypno, summoned a Bayleaf instead. "Opps, wrong Pokemon!" She said as she summoned it back. She put it back but he took it. He looked at it and Pitch chirped.

"Good idea Pitch. Lyra, is the Pokemon on this table? If you have it hiding somewhere else, you better tell us or I'm taking your Pokemon away."

"N-no! Please don't take her away! It's on the table there, really!"

He set it down as Candice picked up another one. "Maybe this one?" She asked. She held it out and summoned a Wigglytuff instead. It let out a very familiar squeak and his eyes grew wide. "Opps, not that one either—"

"Don't summon it back!" He yelled, causing Candice to drop the Pokeball on the ground. He looked over at the Wigglytuff and it suddenly bounced forward and tackled him to the ground. He bounced atop Ethan several times, letting out a happy squeak as he did. "Ow, hey stop that Wiggler! You're gonna kill me here!"

Pitch let out an annoyed chirp and he looked up at the little bird. "Oh, Pitch. This is Wiggler. Wiggler, this is Pitch. Wow Wiggler, I'm really glad you're okay! I thought I had lost you for good!"

Wiggler hopped off him and let out another happy squeak. He pat him on the head and smiled. "Man do I have a lot to tell you! You—"

"So Lyra, care to fill us in why you were holding his beloved Pokemon hostage? I hope you have a real good reason!"

"Ow, ow please stop! Stop hurting me!"

Maylene didn't abide but he looked over at her and shook his head. "Let up on her. Just a little."

"Ethan, please tell her to stop! I'm sorry, I only meant to—"

He got to his feet. "If you had just given him to me earlier, you would have done a lot to improve your rep with me. Now…oh forget it."

Maylene shook her head. "We really should take her in. Kidnapping is a pretty big charge. They could lock her away for awhile."

He shrugged. "You can do what you want. Once we get that Hypno, we're done here as far as I'm concerned."

"Eh…I guess. You're taking this very well for someone who was being held captive by her."

He laughed. "I guess you're right but you know, I got one of my old Pokemon back and we're about to get what we wanted, I'm satisfied. If it wasn't for her, we would have never gotten all this information and I still wouldn't have Wiggler."

"Oh, I think we have it!" Candice said. She held out a Pokemon, summoning a different colored Hypno. She summoned it back and Lyra grumbled.

"That's the Hypno. You…can take him. Just…take him."

Maylene let Lyra go and she slumped to the ground. Candice tossed it to him and he caught it. "Well…I think that's that. Now it's time for me to get back to Unova!"

They left Lyra and the building and began to make their way back to Snowpoint. Candice walked ahead a few feet and jumped into the air.

"Whoo that was so much fun! I haven't had so much fun in such a long time. You need to come back and visit Ethan!"

Maylene got to her feet. "Ha, yea I guess it was a bit fun."

"Stop being such a downer May-May! Oh and bring Homika with you next time! I want to meet her!"

"Meet her is all you're gonna do," Maylene said. "You are not gonna hook up with her."

"But—"

"No."

"I got to ask…what do you mean by hooking up with her?"

Maylene shot him a horrified look. "Why are you asking—"

"Oh it's nothing big, trust me! It's nothing me and May May haven't done!"

"Huh?" He asked and noticed Maylene turning redder than he had ever seen. She began to stomp over toward Candice, who took off as she noticed Maylene approaching. Maylene gave chase and he watched it all with a confused look. "I…I think I'm missing something here. Should I ask what she meant?"

Pitch and Wiggler shot him looks suggesting otherwise. "Yea, I guess I'll just let it go."


	14. Other Stories

Writer's Note: Oh hey! While I plan out the rest of the story, I took a short break and wrote out a few scenes involving Ethan and various characters from the story that I had rolling in my head, which needed to be written down. This isn't canon in anyway though so if you're worried about that, no worries. You can skip this if need be. If you're curious, the first story revolves around Ethan taking Homika home to meet his family, the second one involves Ethan and Erika dealing with Jasmine blowing them off to care for Amphy again…while the third one involves Ethan, Jasmine, Candice and Maylene…with Ethan trying to rein in Candice after she gets hyped up on some drink that drives the person crazy.

[Pairing Ethan/Homika] Can you go home again?

Homika tugged on the edge of her skirt and he looked over at her. "What's with you? I've never seen you so nervous before."

She looked up at him and shook her fist. "You're taking me to meet your mom, why shouldn't I be nervous?"

He and Pitch exchanged a look. "Well…I'm not following you to be honest."

Homika sighed. "You don't get it…people hate me in Johto and Kanto. You ever heard of book burning? They do that with my CD's here! They see me as the scourge of the earth, a girl who is corrupting the youth of the region! This is the one area where I'm despised!"

"Oh…well I didn't know it was like that," he said, just as they passed a poster. He glanced at it and noticed it was advertising a meeting where people could discuss her latest CD and what to do with it.

"That's why I'm super nervous. Ugh, you should have never brought me here!"

He laughed. "But she's been wanting to meet my girlfriend for awhile and I promised her to show her."

Homika let out a grumble just as they heard a bike horn. He turned around in time to see Crystal ride up to them on her bike. She came to a stop and hopped off. "Hey Ethan, long time no see!"

She held out her hand and he shook it. "Yo Chris, it has been awhile! Getting bored with having to hang around at the Pokemon League?"

She shrugged. "It does get a bit boring, I got to admit. Sometimes I wish I wasn't the Champion so I could travel around and challenge more trainers. The season is ending soon so I should have some time to do that. Oh, who is this?"

He put his arm around Homika's shoulders. "Oh this is my girlfriend—"

"I'm uh, my name is Roxie," she said in a meek voice. He and Pitch exchanged another look. It was really weird seeing the usual fiery and tough Homika, being reduced to a timid kitten. Crystal smiled.

"Roxie? That's a pretty name! You two look like a pretty cute couple. Though…I swear I've seen you before Roxie," she said. She leaned forward and Homika looked down, blushing hard. Crystal laughed and looked at him. "Wow, she's just like your friend Jasmine. Except…I don't remember Jasmine being like this."

"She isn't. Roxie is just a bit timid at times. She usually isn't like this."

Crystal smiled. "Ahh but I just can't shake the feeling that I've seen her before."

"You must have me mistaken with that punk rock star. A lot of people say we look alike but I'm nothing like her!" Homika said. Crystal nodded.

"Yea, that's who you remind me of! No wonder but yea I can see why you wouldn't want to be like her. She really isn't popular here."

"Not at all."

Crystal sighed. "Well I just wanted to stop and say hi. I have some errands to take care of but it was nice to meet you Roxie! Take care Ethan!" She said as she hopped back onto her bike and sped off in a cloud of dust. He watched her leave and shook his head.

"Always on the go."

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is so f***ing bad. I'm so screwed," Homika said.

"Ahhh…"

"What if they find out? Of course they're gonna find out!"

He and Pitch exchanged a confused look. "I'm still not following you. So they find out you're really Homika…then what?"

"Don't you see? She's gonna want you to be with someone else! Ugh! And that's the last thing I want."

"I don't think she'd do that. Maybe she'd disapprove but she wouldn't force us apart. You really should calm down."

Homika bent over and sighed. "I'm doomed."

He grabbed his phone and dialed home. To his annoyance, he got the answering machine. "Well…it doesn't seem like she's home now. I wonder where she went?"

"She isn't? Well that's perfect! Let's go back!" Homika said as she made a 180 in the other direction. He grasped her by the arm.

"Not so fast. I know my grandparents are still at the Day Care and they are pretty much always there! Let's go visit them. I promised to bring my girlfriend to meet them too."

Not too long after, thanks to the powerful Pitch, they arrived just to the south of Goldenrod where the familiar Day Care Center sat. In the large yard, he could see Wiggler entertaining some of the baby Pokemon with some soothing tunes. He waved to him and smiled. "Glad to see Wiggler is doing good. Next time I'll take him with me when I visit Unova again, I did promise him."

He felt her tug his sleeve. "I'm just…gonna stay out here while you try to break the news to them."

"Homika—I mean Roxie, you're being silly now. You don't have to be so scared. Come on," he said but as he tried to drag her along, she refused to budge. And when she refused to budge, she wouldn't budge. He let her go. "Okay, fine. I'll go inside."

He stepped inside and found his grandfather behind the desk. He chuckled and stood up. "Well well, look who the Persian dragged in! Ethan it's been awhile!"

He laughed. "Not that long! I was just in a week ago, I think you were out and about!"

He nodded. "You're right, you're right. I was pretty sad I missed you that time around. I won't make that mistake again. My wife told me how impressed she was with some of your new Pokemon. After the photos she showed me, I think we need to take a little trip out to Unova ourselves!"

He smiled. "You should, it's pretty nice. I visit it from time to time but I have to admit, I like Johto a bit more."

"So, I heard a little rumor that you have a nice young lady with you. When do I get to meet her?"

"Ah well…she's actually outside. She's just really shy. Let me drag her in—"

The door opened before he could get to it and Homika walked in. She waved at him. "Oh, uh hey. My name is Roxie."

He leaned forward and nodded. "Well. Well…it looks like you have quite the catch there Ethan. I'm pleased to meet you Roxie! I'm Ethan's grandfather, Jack."

She walked over and shook his hand. "P-Pleased to meet you Mr. Jack."

He nodded. "You know…you remind me a lot of someone—"

"Ahh you must mean that punk rock star Homika! People tell me how much we resemble each other."

He smiled. "Yea, that's it! Talk about unfortunate. I hope people don't give you a hard time about that. I mean Homika really isn't well regarded in these parts."

"I think that's a bit of an understatement," Ethan said. Jack thought it over and nodded.

"No, I think you're right. She's hated over here. I don't think it's that big of an issue. There have been plenty of singers who were just as bad or even worse. Well that's another discussion. Tell me more about yourself Roxie."

She put her hands behind her back and blushed. "Ahh well…I'm from Unova actually. I don't do much; I'm just a regular trainer. I would love to maybe become a gym leader but I got a ways to go before that happens. E here is trying to show me the ropes of being a trainer."

"A gym leader huh? That sounds like a nice plan. We've suggested Ethan become a gym leader but—"

"No thanks. I'd be bored out of my skull and what would I center my gym around? I don't even have a single type I like over the rest," he said. Homika giggled.

"I tried to suggest we run a gym together but he still won't budge. I guess he doesn't like being tied down to a place like that."

"You're right. I don't think so either. Well do you plan to be in Johto for long Ethan?"

"Well after I take her back, I'll be around for some time. I miss home too much."

Jack laughed. "You say that but I think Roxie looks like she would like you to stick around in Unova for a bit longer."

"Yea I suppose but I still miss home a bit. I see her a lot still."

"Well I don't want to keep you. I'm sure you—"

"Where's Grandma? It's rare to see her gone."

"Oh, she's in Goldenrod, getting some stuff for the Center here. I don't know when she'll be back. You know how she can be at the store."

Ethan nodded. "Yea, I guess you're right. I'll have to bring Roxie around later so she can meet her too."

"She would really appreciate that."

They left not long after and Homika stomped her foot on the ground and groaned. "Ugh…I can't do this!"

"Do what? Stop being such a spazz and calm down."

"How can I cam down? What if they find out? They're gonna find out! And then what?"

He and Pitch exchanged looks. "Really Roxie, you're making a—"

"Hey you!"

He turned to see a young kid walk up. Then he remembered who he was, the one with the infamous Ratite. "Yo. Do you still have the top Rattata around?"

"Rattata? That's so last year. He's now the top rated Raticate, the best in the world! I've even entered a Raticate only tournament and came out on top, he really is the best!"

"But it's just a rat…" Homika said under her breath. The boy puffed out his chest and pointed his finger at him.

"Hey so I want to take you on in a Pokemon battle!"

"Ahhh but I'm kind of busy…"

The kid frowned and then he nodded. "Give me a second! I'll find my girl and we can make it a doubles battle!"

"Ahh, no! I'm not all that good at battling," Homika said. She gave a nervous laugh. "I'll just watch."

Pitch let out a confused chirp but he just patted him on the head. "Okay so…I gotta think who to use…"

Pitch let out a chirp and he looked over at him. "Oh you want to go? Well I guess."

Pitch flew off his shoulders and the boy's eyes grew wide. "Wow, what is that? I've never seen that Pokemon before! He looks like an eagle!"

Ethan smirked. "He's from Unova and he's a Rufflet. I've heard he does evolve into an eagle but he hasn't gotten there yet."

The boy pumped his fist as he summoned his Raticate. "All right Raticate, let's show this little bird whose boss!"

The large and chubby rat hurried forward but Pitch took to the skies, as he liked to do. The boy looked up at him and folded his arms. Pitch reached the height of his flight and took a sudden nosedive towards Raticate. "Ha! You think that's gonna work? Raticate, use Hyper Fang!"

The rat leapt up, bearing its fangs but Pitch adjusted his flight path just enough so he smacked straight into the rat, head first. The head butt knocked the two of them backwards, with Pitch fluttering down to the ground, looking a bit dazed. He shook his head a bit but Raticate recovered quicker and charged straight at him. Before Pitch could move, he was bowled over with a quick attack from Raticate. "Yea, good hit Raticate! I knew you had it in you!"

"That was good but Pitch has taken on bigger foes than a Raticate."

"Yea but he hasn't taken on the highest rated Raticate and the world and guess who has that? This guy!" He said as he pointed to himself. "Soon the whole world will know about Joey and his powerful rat!"

He felt Homika lean in on his shoulders. "This guy needs a life. Or a girlfriend. Perhaps both," she whispered.

"Hey, she better not be giving you tips!"

Ethan laughed. "Well I don't exactly need tips Joey."

"Yea I know! But think how good my rep will be if everyone hears I beat the third strongest trainer around? It would boom! I would be famous, people would love me! They would wear shirts, proclaiming Raticate's greatness and what an utterly awesome guy—"

"I hate to interrupt your speech but have you been keeping an eye on the battle?"

"Huh?" He said as he returned his attention back to the two Pokemon. While they had been arguing, Pitch and Raticate had kept on sparring but it appeared that the fight was over. Raticate lay on his side, gasping for air as if he had been in a marathon while Pitch sat atop him, stretching out his wings. "Hey, how did that happen?"

"I told you, he's fought quite a few Pokemon stronger than your Raticate. Even though it is a pretty tough rat."

Joey sighed. "Oh man, I really thought we could do it! I've always lost to you and I thought maybe this time would be different."

"You need more Pokemon," Homika said.

"Yea, I think if you add a few more Pokemon, you'll do a lot better."

Joey summoned his Pokemon back and sighed. "But then no one will know about—"

"Yea they will. Just because you have a team of Pokemon, doesn't mean people will forget about it. You've been using him for so long that I know he'll still stand out, just it'll be better because he has a team backing him up."

"Yea…I guess I see your point," he said. He let out a sigh. "Thanks for battling with me. I guess it was silly to think I could beat you."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "What's with that attitude? Where's the fire? You want people to forget about your top rated Raticate?"

"Huh? But—"

"The only way you'll get better is to keep battling. Get a good team together and go out there! If you don't believe in yourself, that you can become a better trainer, you'll never do it. You have the passion, you just need to think some more."

Joey pounded his chest. "Y-yea, you're right! Yep, watch out for me Ethan! I'm gonna take that title away from you! I already know of some Pokemon I can use for my team! Just you watch!" He said, his mood improving. He ran off in a flash as Pitch returned to his shoulder.

"Wow E, I didn't know you had that kind of fire in you."

"Yea…well. If he wants to take my title of third best trainer, he can have it—"

"W-what?" She said. She grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, causing poor Pitch to fall off. She glared at him. "How can you say that?"

"Huh? But I don't really care about becoming the Champion anymore—"

"But…why? I thought that's why you gathered that new team of Pokemon?"

He smiled. "I did but while I still enjoy battling, I'm not really interested in becoming the Champion anymore. I've already been there and done that. Even though I'm not the Champion, most people view me as on par with the Champion because of what I've accomplished. Besides I've got to meet so many cool people along the way, it's more fun getting to spend time with them, rather than trying to spend all my time trying to become the Champion."

"I…I guess I still don't get you," she said as she let go of him. She looked up at him and smiled. "I guess I like it that way—"

"Oh Ethan, who is this?"

He looked to the side of Homika and saw his mom walking toward them. He waved to her, just as Homika scurried behind his back. "Ahhh oh, hey mom! We were just looking for you! You weren't at home so I decided to visit the grandparents first!"

She smiled as she set down some of her bags. "Looks like we sort of had the same idea. How have you been? I'm glad you still visit Johto so often."

"You know I can't leave it for long. Unova is nice but I really prefer home. And I've been fine, just…busy I guess. Doing a bunch of traveling and oh, I want you to meet someone," he said. He stepped to the side and pushed the unwilling Homika forward. "This is Roxie."

She held out her hand. "Oh so you're the nice young lady he's told me so much about. "

"Umm, hello Mom."

"Mom?" Ethan asked, looking at Pitch as he did.

She laughed. "Well I was going to say my real name but if you want to refer to me as that, I'm fine with it. So Ethan tells me that you're a singer?"

"Huh? Ahhh…I mean I umm…could we go somewhere quiet?"

"I don't mind but what's wrong?"

"Oh…uh I just need to tell you something and I think you should be sitting down when you hear it."

He and Pitch exchanged a look.

They opted to go to the Ilex Forest just to the south of Goldenrod, always a nice and quiet place. He remembered he had let his Vileplume return here to look over the forest and he thought about trying to find it but decided he would leave that for another time. His mom sat down on a small wooden bench and smiled at the two of them. "All right, so what did you want to tell me dear? You look so nervous."

Homika looked at him and sighed. "Well miss, the reason why I wanted to sit you down is because…E is right, I am a singer. I'm known as Homika, the punk rock singer from Unova."

"Oh really?"

"Yes…I know what everyone thinks about me here in Johto and Kanto. They see me as a terrible influence for kids. I don't know what you think about me. I know I like to sing about a lot of…ummm-dirty things. I apologize for that. I'm sure you would've liked for your son to be with a nice and quiet girl—"

"You don't have to apologize for that."

Homika's eyes grew wide. "I…don't? But…but I'm Homika! Everyone here hates me, they burn my CD's, they've banned them from being sold here and…and you're okay with that? You don't mind?"

"I trust my son's judgment. He has so many good friends as well and I know they look out for him, even when I can't. And if you two have been together for some time, I figure it's for a good reason."

"Oh…"

"Though I have to ask, why do you sing about all that stuff?"

Homika blushed. "Well…I guess it was because I was so angry. Angry at the world, angry with the people who made fun of me or heckled me. Angry about every little thing. So I sang about that. I spewed my venom out to the world. I thought it would make me happy…and it did, if only for a short time. So I kept singing about it. I acted out and did crazy things on stage because I wanted the attention. I needed it because no one would give me the time of day," she said. She walked over and dragged him over and put her arm around him. "And then this goof showed up. Since we've been around, I've felt a lot better. I'm not as angry anymore, I don't really want to act out on stage and only sing. Sing about good things and less about angry and vile things. I guess he's mellowed me out."

"I'm glad you two are happy. I think you'll really be good for each other."

She nodded. "Ahh thank you for understanding."

She laughed. "You really didn't need to worry so much. Please take good care of him."

"Ugh," Ethan said.

[Pairing: Ethan/Erika (Yes, really)] The Amphy Dilemma.

"Jasmine."

"H-huh?" She said as she finally turned her attention away from Amphy. "Oh, Ethan! I'm sorry, I know we were supposed to go out today but I can't. Amphy is sick and I have to take care of her."

"Ahh but—"

"I'm sorry, I really am but I can't leave her. She needs to be taken care of and I'm the only one who can do it."

He let out a sigh. "All right…okay. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"N-no but thanks for asking!"

He took the elevator down to the main floor and let out an annoyed sigh as he stepped out. "This like the fifth time Pitch. Should I be annoyed? I mean it feels like it's wrong to be annoyed but—"

"Do you always talk to yourself like that?"

"Huh? Oh hi Erika," he said as the grass gym leader walked up to him. She spun the umbrella on her shoulder and smiled.

"You look pretty down. Did Jasmine blow you off…again?"

"N-no! She just said she had to postpone the date."

Erika laughed as she leaned closer. "Is that what she really said?"

"N-no. She blew me off…again," he said as they stepped out. He folded his arms. "What do you think Erika?"

Erika put a finger to her lips. "Well she's blown off a few dates with me too. I don't think you're wrong for feeling bad."

"Yea but…I almost resent it. It feels so wrong to feel like that since she's taking care of a sick Pokemon."

Erika chuckled. "Yes but she has been spending a lot of time caring for it. Too much time. I'm afraid she'll work herself to death. She's pretty much been sleeping, eating and taking care of Amphy."

Pitch let out a chirp. "But what can we do?"

Erika laughed as she grasped his hand. "I leave the ideas to you."

"You know…Amphy seems to get sick quite a bit, what if we got another one? Raise up another Mareep so it can give Amphy a break when she needs it?"

Erika looked at him. "You know, that could work. Of course trying to convince her that it's for the best…"

"Yea but this way she won't have to be stuck caring for Amphy so much and…and…"

Erika leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You're so cute when you're concerned like that," she said, causing him to blush.

"Ahhh…please don't do that in public. Or else your female admirers will have my head."

She laughed. "I didn't know the third strongest trainer around was worried about a few trainers."

"They would outnumber me!"

She covered her mouth as she laughed. "So Ethan, where could we catch a Mareep?"

"I know just the place!"

Lying just south of Violet City, lay a large meadow, which had become known as Electric Meadow thanks to the large amount of Mareep that loved to gather there to eat, sleep and live. He remembered passing by the meadow quite a few times, doing his best not to bump into them. True to form, when the two of them entered the route, he saw a large herd of Mareep, grazing. "There are so many."

"Yep but we have to pick the right one. It has to be a healthy one so it can stand up to the heavy workload. It can't be a runt and it has to be—"

"Hmm what about that one off by itself?"

He looked up and noticed a lone Mareep, away from the rest of the group. It looked a bit bigger than the rest but he couldn't imagine why it was away from the rest of the group. "Hmm I wonder if it's one of those bold types? The ones that don't follow the crowd and forge their own path?"

"Or it's just dumb."

He looked over at Erika, who had sat down on a nearby fence. "Well I guess there is that but he looks pretty strong and healthy. Perhaps he'll do!"

"Well, I'll let you handle that. My Pokemon don't really do well against electric."

"Yea…well neither do mine to be honest," he said. Pitch let out a chirp but he ignored him. "No way Pitch. I'm not going to let you take this one. The other deserve a chance too," he said as he took out the Pokeball holding Chase. He summoned the ghost candle, which caught the attention of the Mareep right away. It stared at Chase and began to dig its hoof into the ground like a bull. "Does he think he's a Tauros or something?"

The Mareep took off at Chase, its head out in front but only passing through the candle harmlessly and falling straight on its belly a few feet away. "I give him points for trying at the very least."

The sheep got to its feet as sparks began to form around its wooly body. It unleashed a small lightning bolt but Chase swayed out of the way, probably having seen it coming. The Mareep only responded by stomping its hoof into the dirty and firing off another lightning bolt and again, Chase swayed out of the way. Ethan walked over and joined Erika but only stood next to the fence. "Looks like he's just toying with him."

"Cocky and confidant just like his trainer."

The fight continued like this, with Chase moving out of the way of the Mareep's attacks, causing the sheep to grow angrier and angrier. Soon it lost its composure and tried to head butt Chase again, even thought it hadn't worked before. As it got near, Chase's flame grew bright as it suddenly responded with a blast of fire, right in the sheep's face. It fell to the ground, bleating in a weak tone, exhausted. He took out a Pokeball and tossed it at it. "Well that was pretty simple. Good job Chase!"

"You know Ethan, I know Jasmine blew us off but how about we go on a little date?"

He looked over at her as he summoned Chase back. "A…date? Well I don't mind, it's just—"

She patted him on the back. "You're as bad as her, being such a worrywart."

"Ahh I guess but…oh, we should…umm I can't think of somewhere we could go."

Pitch let out an amused chirp and he shot the bird a look. "How about this? You like ice cream? I came up with a new plant based flavor I'd love for you to try."

"Plant? How will that be sweet?"

"Trust me."

"Umm…well okay, if you insist."

He sneezed as they walked into her gym. It always messed with his sinuses whenever he walked in and true to form, he would have to step out once in a while to get some air. Erika stopped him from going any further. "Wait outside and I'll bring it out. I know how much you hate the smell of the gym."

"I don't hate it…I just can't handle it," he said but he did as asked and stepped out. He leaned against the side of the gym, just as a young boy walked up.

"Oh hey mister. Is Erika inside?"

"Well yes but—"

"Awesome! I got these flowers for her and I hope she'll like them!" He said as he stuck out a hand with a bouquet full of colorful flowers. It looked like a pretty nice bouquet but how was he gonna tell the kid he was barking up the wrong tree?

"Well that's a pretty nice bunch of flowers."

"You think so? I thought she would like them since she's a grass trainer and all. She's a really pretty girl—"

"Yea but aren't you a bit young for her?"

"Huh, she can't be that old, can she?"

Pitch let out an amused chirp and he tapped him on the bill to quiet him. "Well…I know she's at least 22 or 23."

"She can wait for me!"

"Well…to be honest…I don't think she likes boys very much. I think she thinks they have cooties or something."

The kid shot him a look. "You think I believe in that kind of stuff, really mister?"

"It was worth a shot! I'm not lying about that not liking boys much. Have you been inside her gym before?"

The boy looked at the ground. "Well now that you mention it…not really. What is it like? A garden?"

Ethan chuckled. "It is a garden but what I mean is that her gym is filled with nothing but girls. Nothing but girls and they don't take kindly to guys being there."

His eyes grew wide. "Really?"

"Yea, they'll tolerate you if you're in there to challenge her for the badge but you better be prepared to run for you life afterwards or they'll turn vicious! Like Sharpedo who sense blood in the water!"

"W-w-wow but why do you get to go in there? I've heard from some people around here that you're the only guy who is welcome there. They'll chase every guy out but you! Tell me your secret!"

"I-I don't have one. You'd have to ask Erika to be honest."

"So she doesn't like boys…except for you."

"Yea but there are plenty of other girl gym leaders you could try to ask out instead! I bet Janine—"

"I know, I'll ask Jasmine—"

"Taken."

The door opened and Erika stepped out. The boy jumped and shoved the flowers toward her. "Oh uh…here, these are for you!" He said. As she took them, he took off like a rocket.

"What a sweet little boy."

"I'm sorry but—"

"I overhead, you don't have to apologize. You looked like you were doing your best to break it to him carefully."

He shrugged. He noticed she held a large bowl of lime green colored ice cream in her other hand, while balancing the umbrella on her shoulder. He took it and held it over her head. "So what is the flavor called?"

"Oddish."

"P-Please tell me you didn't use a real Oddish for it."

She laughed as they walked over to the large fountain in the middle of Celadon and sat down. "Come on Ethan, I wouldn't do that. I just named it after that because Oddish are so cute. And it matches the color of their leaves, don't you think?"

"Oh…yea! I see your point," he said. He noticed there was only one spoon in the bowl. "Oh, we're gonna need another spoon. I'll go get—"

"You're so clueless. Don't you know how couples do it? They will often feed each other using the same spoon."

His eyes grew wide. "Huh but is that…clean? I mean—"

She chuckled and looked at him. "We've kissed before and that's the same deal. Trust me, Jasmine would love it too."

"Well if you insist, you're the expert here," he said. She spooned up some ice cream and pushed the spoon toward him. He began to take it but she shook her head.

"I get to feed you so just relax."

"I'm…trying but I feel so weird. I don't—"

"You talk too much Ethan," she said. He opened his mouth and took a small bite. Not too much as he wasn't in the mood to have a brain freeze and fall into the water.

"Hmmm…it's not as sweet as some other ice cream but it's…good. It's kind of like a fruit punch in a way…I guess."

"I'm glad you like it," she said. She handed him the bowl and he lifted the spoon toward her mouth. To his surprise, she at it all in one bite. She shivered a bit and shook her head.

"You didn't have to eat it all in one bite!"

"Oh I know, I know. I won't try it again. That was silly of me."

She reached down and dabbed a little ice cream on her finger and dragged it along her cheek. "Why are you doing—"

"You're supposed to eat it off my cheek. A little kiss would do."

He blushed. "E-E-Erika?"

"You're a boy, you should be happy to kiss me."

"Well…I guess, yea but…ummm er," he said as he leaned forward to kiss her but she turned to the side and caught him on the lips. He turned super red as she didn't just kiss him but planted a deep kiss on him and as they pulled away, he looked away, his face red hot. "I…I…need to jump in this fountain."

She covered her mouth and laughed. She lapped up the ice cream off her cheek and extended her finger toward his mouth. He shook his head and she wiped it on his cheek. "You're so clueless at times."

"And you like to tease me too much."

"You want some more ice cream?"

"Well…that I can agree to. And please don't do something like stick some in your mouth and tell me to get it from you."

"So now you're trying to give me ideas?"

He blushed again and looked away. "No…you've tried it before on me. In front of Jasmine and she fainted dead away. Well before I did at least."

He took another spoonful from her and she chuckled. "I just love teasing the two of you because you're so cute when flustered. And I have so much to teach the two of you."

"Teach us?"

Erika tapped the spoon against her cheek. "Well you want to be a boyfriend, don't you?"

"Ahhh…yea but—"

"But what?" She asked as she handed him the spoon.

"Well, I just get in trouble every time you teach me something. Jasmine says you're a bad influence," he said as he feed her another spoonful. She at it and chuckled.

"She's just being silly. I'm just teaching you how to be affectionate. She's just so shy and reserved that she—"

"Ethan, Erika!"

They turned to see Jasmine walk up, looking a bit flustered. She covered her mouth and blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know you two were on a date."

"That's okay, please have a seat Jasmine."

"Uhh, no that's okay."

"Sit," Erika said in a firm voice, even though she was still smiling. Jasmine nodded and sat down next to Erika. She looked down at the ground.

"So…uh how are you two? It's…uh…it's been a while."

"We're fine. We've just wondered what happened to you. You've been avoiding us—"

"I'm not avoiding you! I'm just…" she said before she put her hands between her knees and tapped her feet on the ground. "I have been neglecting you two, haven't I?"

"Not really—"

"Ethan stop trying to be so nice," Erika, said.

"It's okay, I understand. I have been paying a lot of attention to Amphy but I've been ignoring you two. I…just can't leave her sick like that and I'm the only one—"

"That's why we had a solution! Or a compromise. Either way, I think we have an idea how to help," he said as he held out a Pokeball. Jasmine took it and looked at it.

"Uh…"

"We caught a Mareep so you can train it up. That way if Amphy is sick, there is another Ampharos around."

Jasmine gasped and looked at the two of them. "Both of you?"

"He did, I just watched," Erika said.

Jasmine held it to her lips. "Ahh…thank you, both of you. We should raise it together…it needs a name though."

"We don't even know if it's a boy or girl yet."

"Boy. The males tend to be a bit more independent than the girls," Ethan said. "I'm a bit familiar with them since I live around there."

"So if it's a boy…"

"I say we call him…Ben."

"Ben?" Jasmine said. "I don't know…"

"Benny," Erika said and he nodded. He looked over at Pitch, who didn't seem to mind the name either.

"I think Benny works."

"H-huh?"

Erika chuckled. "It's a good name Jasmine."

"Ahh well…I suppose it'll grow on me."

Erika got to her feet and pushed Jasmine toward him. She sat down to the side of Jasmine. "Now Ethan, how about you practice what I showed you?"

Jasmine looked at her, almost dropping the Pokeball. "What did you teach him? What did you show him this time?"

"You sure are fussing for someone who was blowing us off for the longest."

Jasmine blushed. "Ahh…well."

"I'm just teaching him to be affectionate, nothing big."

He spooned up some ice cream and she glanced at it. "Oh…did you make this Erika? What flavor is it?"

"Oddish."

"Huh, ah…you're messing with me, aren't you?"

She noticed him pushing the spoon toward her and blushed. Erika pushed her a bit closer. "Stop blushing. He's only trying to feed you some ice cream. It's what couples do."

"Is that all you taught him?" She asked as she ate some of it. "Oh…I like it! It's kind of like fruit punch…so many different flavors."

"Now, it's your turn Jasmine."

"Ahhh…well, okay," she said as she took the spoon. She couldn't stop blushing and before she could even finish spooning up some ice cream, she dropped the spoon in the fountain. "Oh…I'm sorry for being so clumsy."

Erika sighed. "You don't have to be so nervous Jasmine. It's only Ethan, you've been friends forever. Now you're more than friends."

"I know, I know—"

"I know just the thing. Come back with me to my gym, I have an idea of how you can become more comfortable with him."

"Ahh…I'm not sure I—"

Erika leaned over and kissed Jasmine on the cheek, causing her to faint dead away but be caught her before she fell in the water. Erika covered her mouth and laughed. "You did that on purpose."

"I suppose I did."

[Pairings: Ethan/Jasmine and Candice/Maylene] Candice and Ethan Chaos x2!

"Hey Maple, E-E over here!" Candice yelled, her voice overpowering the nearby roller coaster that roared over their heads, the carousel, the bumper cars and pretty much every ride possible in the Nimbasa Amusement Park. He waved to them as they walked up, before stepping to the side and pushing Maple forward.

"Oh, and if you guys haven't met before, this is Jasmine, though she prefers the name Maple when she's dressed up like this."

Candice leaned forward, mouth agape. "Oh wow, she's a real cutie! I remember Volkner saying the gym leader from Olivine was cute but I didn't think she was this cute!"

"Ahhh, hehe thanks Candice."

Candice suddenly yanked her away and put her arms around her neck. Maybe a bit too tight as she flashed a gagging gesture at him. "Oh wow, she's soooo cute! I just want to take her home with me! Is that okay with you Ethan?"

Maylene grumbled. "If you take her home, then where does that leave poor Ethan?"

Candice frowned. "Oh yea…he will be single if I steal his girlfriend, huh?"

"And is she even into girls?"

"Ahh no, just boys thanks," Maple said with a blush. Candice pulled away from her.

"Oh really? Well I know just the thing!" She said as she began to twiddle her fingers in Maple's direction. Maple looked at her with a confused look as Candice began to chant. "Look into my eyes, look deep into my eyes! Yes, that's right, look straight into them. You are now caught in the Magical Candice Girls Love Beam or LesBeam for short. Now, I command you to become a lesbian!"

Maple stared straight into her eyes while he and Pitch shared a look. Maylene rolled her eyes as Candice pulled her fingers away and flashed him a thumps up. "Candice, what are you—"

"Well it looks like I've converted her! Sorry E-E but she's now mine! Don't worry, I know just the gym leader to—"

Before she could finish, Maple jabbed the middle of her face with her finger. "Nice try Candice."

Candice held her nose. "Oh, you're no fun Maple!"

"Again, even if your magical beam worked, where that would leave Ethan?"

Candice laughed. "That's easy May-May! He's so popular with many of the gym leaders; there are plenty he could get with. I dunno…maybe Homika—"

"No. If he'll end up with anyone other than me, it'd be Erika. I can trust her," Maple said, flashing him a smile. Candice looked over at him too.

"Hey, what do you think?"

"Huh, I'm not answering that!"

Candice looked at him and then Maple. "Wow…she's got you whipped already and you two aren't even married! Don't tell me she's made you as spineless as a Steelix!"

"That's a pretty bad comparison."

"Huh? Oh yea—"

"He's not spineless! I was just being honest, she's the one person I could really trust to treat him well."

Maple walked over back to him. "Sooo E-E, what's that drink you have in your hand?"

He looked down at the thermos Erika and Jasmine had given him, one bearing images of all the different Pokemon he had owned or owned at the moment. He had to admit it was a pretty great gift and used it whenever he could. "Oh…this is a special kind of drink. It causes to person to go crazy."

"What, really? Let me have a swig!"

Did she actually believe that? Before he could respond, Candice had ripped it away and drank away. It only took her a few seconds before she drank the whole thing and tossed it back to him while wiping her mouth. "Uh…you know that was just—"

"Uh oh…uh oh…I think I feel something? Oh man, I can feel it now! It's coming, it's coming I tell-WHOO!" She yelled, causing all three to jump in surprise. She jumped in the air herself, pumping her fist. "All aboard the Candice Chattanooga Choo-Choo Train! Whoo, get on because it's gonna be a wild ride!" She said before running off in a cloud of dust. They all watched her run off before Maylene shot him a dirty look.

"I can't believe you made that joke—"

"Well I didn't expect her to—"

"This is Candice we're talking about! She's already a bit silly and now that you've given her a so called excuse to go nuts, you don't think she'll use that chance?"

"I'm sorry Maylene! I really didn't expect her to take it seriously."

Maylene shook her head as she walked off. He leaned over and let out a sigh. "Boy did I screw that one up."

Maple gave his hand a quick squeeze. "Don't worry. Maybe it was a bit of a poor joke but I thought it was a little cute. As long as we prevent her from causing too much mayhem, it'll be fine."

Pitch let out a chirp. "Yea, trying to stop her chaos will be a treat. Ummm, you didn't really have to get that angry when she brought up Homika."

Maple brushed aside her hair as she began to walk away. "Huh? I wasn't angry. She's just…not my favorite person right now. Especially after what she did. Is it wrong if Erika and me aren't concerned about you?"

Pitch let out an amused chirp and he shot him a look. "Ahh yea, I get it. Thanks anyway for sticking up for me."

Maple turned to smile at him, the remnants of her black eye still showing just a tad. "Sure. Well…let's split up and look for that clown."

Luckily for him and Pitch, they didn't have to go far. They found Candice near a cotton candy booth, eating a purple cone of the stuff. "Oh good, at least you didn't get very far—"

"Oh E-E, guess what drink I've obtained?"

"Huh?"

She held up a bottle of what looked like soda. "It's Magical Straight Juice! One sip and the person becomes as straight as an arrow! Straighter than a stiff Steelix! Straighter than—"

"I think I get it. Umm, we need to go back—"

"Back? Not until I've had a swig!" She said as she threw her head back and guzzled it all in one gulp. Pitch let out a chirp as she followed through with a burp of her own. "Opps!"

"You're right, she is a bit crazy—"

"I'm not crazy…uh-oh, I think I feel it! Oh, I'm getting all tingly now…especially when I see you!"

"Huh?" He said before she hurried over and kissed him straight on the lips, a very wet and sloppy coke flavored kiss. She pulled away and gave a goofy smile.

"Ahh…I think it worked! Looks like poor Maple is out of luck now! Come on, let's go have some fun!"

He wiped his mouth clean. "Fun but we need to—"

"Oh come on now! Don't tell me Maple has ripped your spine from you! You're supposed to be tough as a Gyrados with an attitude or a Steelix made of diamond! Why are you so worried about one girl's opinion?"

"I have a spine!"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh, then where is it? Let's go have some fun!"

"W-w-well," he began to say. He liked joining in on her fun but something told him now wasn't the best of times. Maybe if he tagged along, he could have a little fun but keep her in line too? "I suppose."

"Great, let's go!" She said. Pitch shot him a look.

"It's okay, we'll just try to keep her contained. At least until she burns herself out."

Candice sped off and he hurried after her. She stopped at a booth selling some beef jerky and bought some. As he walked up, she presented some to him. Just as she did, a young kid walked up. "Hey, what is that stuff you're eating?"

Candice looked at him and smiled. "Oh this stuff? It's fried Dratini tail."

Horror formed on the kid's face. "H-h-huh?"

She winked at him. "Fried Dratini Tail, yep yep! It's really tasty too…it kind of tastes like Fried Torchic. Well kind of but I guess a lot of fried stuff tastes like that!"

"But they wouldn't kill Pokemon to…fry them, wouldn't they?"

Candice shrugged. "Of course silly. They are a delicacy, especially in Sinnoh; we fry so many Pokemon over there. You wouldn't imagine how tasty some of them could be."

The kid began to turn a bit green. "Y-Y-You mean people would fry Danny and…Tully. They would…" he said before he ran off, looking even more sick. Candice burst into laughter.

"That was a pretty mean joke—"

"Mean? Oh come on, he's pretty silly for believing that! Besides, who would believe that they fry Pokemon, come on! He'll run to his mom and she'll tell him the truth!"

He frowned. "Yea but—"

"Hey, I drank that straight juice so you're now my boyfriend! At least stick up for me, okay?"

"Huh…uhh okay but…wait, what?"

Candice jumped in the air. "All right, well let's go ride some bumper cars!" She said as she rocketed off toward them. Well, how much trouble could she get into there?

He followed after her and joined her just inside the entrance to the bumper cars. She looked at him with a wide smile. "Well E-E, looks like there's one car left!"

"Oh so that means you'll ride it? I can—"

"No! It's a big enough car so we can ride together! Like Oddish in a pod or Magnemite in a…factory! We can bump and grind to the music, singing like Jigglypuff to the odes of joy, peace and love!"

"That doesn't sound very comfortable—"

"What? Of course it'll be comfortable! Now come on!" She said as she grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the last remaining car. She sat in front and he climbed in behind her, with reluctance. Pitch chirped at him as he realized he was almost pressed up against her.

"Huh, what do you mean I should be enjoying this? Wouldn't it be more enjoyable in my own bumper car?"

"Hope you're ready boy toy!" She yelled as the car began to move. She drove the car forward with a quick burst of speed, slamming into a nearby car with a young boy. "Hey watch it pal, I'm driving here! I'm like a Garchomp on a mission!"

She backed the car up and began to ride around, knocking a few cars aside. He had to do his best not to bump into her but the way she drove made it tough. "Is this how you drive a car?"

"Huh? Drive? May-May refuses to let me drive, she said she's afraid I'll kill someone! She said I would scare the daylights out of a Gengar. Can you imagine that?"

He could believe it. "Well…"

"You won't be like that, right? You'll let me get a car and drive it like a Mr. Mime on a bender, right?"

He winced as she slammed into another car. "Yea…wait, what?" He said as she backed up and began to drive around again. What was she talking about this time?

"Great, glad to hear it! Hold on because Candice is about to wreck shop!"

And wreck shop she did, enough for them to kicked out early. Even through his numerous protests, she kept on going, smashing into cars at a torrid pace. If she had kept at it, he was sure she would have wrecked every other bumper car in there. They sat down on a nearby bench and she laughed. "Whoo, that was so much fun! Why did they have to kick us out?"

"Well…I don't think they were ready for your driving skills."

"You bet they weren't! I bet all the other drivers were jealous! Jealous that they can't drive a bumper car like Candice the Magnificent! Mistress of the Seven Courses!"

He looked over at her. "The Seven…Courses?"

"You don't know about them? They are seven go-kart places around Sinnoh, each track longer and more twisty turvy than the last. The last one is the holy grail of courses, one that would wow Arceus, shame the Regi trio and render the three Lake Pokemon speechless! It's so awesome that Arceus speaks about it in hushed tones!"

If those did exist, he would have known about them. He let out a sigh and looked down at the ground. "Well…"

"Rest up because we've still got to ride the roller coaster, the carousel and try out the arcade—the arcade!" She yelled as she jumped to her feet. She grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the large building which had all the arcade machines. They stepped into the space themed building, which smelt of burnt popcorn and smoke. Probably from the machines being overused or something. She walked over to a pinball machine and started it up. He walked over and noticed the board was Pokemon themed, of course. The board was decorated with various Pokemon and even the pinball was colored like a mini Pokeball. She began to work the bumpers while he watched. "Watch me, I'll light this sucker up like a Chandilere at a party!"

That's may have been what she was shooting for but for all her flipper…flipping, she didn't get very far. Soon the lights dimmed as she realized she had lost. "Well that sucks."

"Hey boy toy, this machine is rigged! Show them whose boss!" She said as she pushed him forward. She started it up and stood to the side, arms folded across her chest and a large smile across her face. He began to work the machine and in a few minutes, it began to spit out a long string of tickets as he racked up the points. In a matter of minutes, he had acquired quite a few tickets. He tore them off and admired the long trail. "Wow, that's like the length of a Dragonite! How did you get so good?"

"Oh…you know…"

"You know what I think? That machine was possessed. I bet it was taken over by a host of Gastly and when Candice took control, they decided to play a trick on her and cause her to fail at it. However when you took control, you showed those pesky ghosts who are boss! I knew drinking that straight juice was a good idea, Candice has the best boy toy!"

"What do you mean by boy toy?"

Candice turned and saw a kid playing with the whack a mole game, except the moles were replaced with rubber Digglet replicas. She ran over as a worried thought formed in his head. He hurried over as she stood next to the machine. "Hey, do you realize what you're doing?"

The kid looked over at her as he kept whacking at the Digglet. "What?"

"Those are real Digglet you're hitting! That's pretty mean, don't you think? What do you think those Digglet think?"

His eyes grew wide. "Huh but they don't make a sound—"

"Of course not! They've been silenced. Silenced so they can't cry out as they're forced to pop out, stiff and erect as you whack at them and try to force them back down! That's why you can't hear them," she said as she gave him a mischievous look. He still didn't understand a single thing what she was talking about, just Candice being Candice.

"R-r-really?"

She took to rubber mallet from him. "Yep. If you watch when I whack it, you can see it wince—"

"Ahh!" The kid yelled as he ran off. She giggled as she set the mallet down.

"That wasn't real—"

"Kids are so gullible. Don't worry E-E, his parents will tell him the truth and he'll be okay! Who would really believe that anyway?" She asked as she grabbed the mallet again. Just before she could whack it, someone grabbed her wrist and stopped her going through with it. He turned to see it was Maylene, not looking too happy. "Oh hi May-May! Ummm, why are you looking me like that?"

"Ethan, could you excuse us?" She said with a threatening look as she dragged Candice away. He chuckled a bit before stopping when a dreadful feeling settled upon him.

"She's right behind me, isn't she?" He asked Pitch, just as he felt Maple grab him by the back of his collar. She dragged him out of the arcade and sat him down on a nearby park bench. He kept his head down, a sense of shame coming upon him. "Ahhh—"

"Ethan, could you tell me what the two of you were doing? Weren't you supposed to be helping us stop her?" She asked in a sweet voice.

"Ahh yea, about that…"

"Sooo why were you joining in with her and causing mayhem all over the amusement park?"

He sighed, hearing the disappointment in her voice. Maybe joining in and trying to prevent her mayhem didn't work out like he thought. "Ahhh yea…I was supposed to but I…didn't. I thought it would be a little fun to tag along and try to prevent her from going a bit crazy. I guess I didn't do a good job of that. Sorry."

"Did you really have fun?"

"Huh? Well…I guess it was…a little fun. Well I mean I didn't think it was fun when she was traumatizing those kids and I tried to tell her that—"

She giggled and he looked up at her. She covered her mouth and put her hands behind her back. "You know E, that's the first time I've seen you smile in a while. Candice's terrible fun aside, it's a little reassuring to see you smile. I've really missed it."

He looked away. "I guess but still—"

"I mean yes I'm angry that you didn't put a stop to her madness but still…you haven't smiled or laughed in so long that I was worried."

"Oh come on, you don't have to be worried."

She grabbed his hands and held them up to her. "Yes I do. Why do you think I took that punch for you?"

"You didn't have to do that, I could have…let her slug me."

She nodded. "Look…that's in the past but I just want the old Ethan back. The one that that flashed a bright smile at me when we first met. The Ethan who jumped at the chance to go across the sea…across an entire sea to get the medicine I needed for Amphy."

He laughed. "Hey, I'm still around. Don't get all mushy on me—" he said but he didn't get to finish as she bent over and planted a kiss on him. She pulled away after a few, both of their faces bright red. "Ahh…uhhh, I don't expect that kind of thing from you."

She winked at him and flashed him a victory sign. "Oh well Erika has been giving me a few pointers on the whole affectionate stuff…among other things."

"Erika…oh boy…she's got some…interesting ideas."

"Oh and I think she can come up with a way for us to make it up to the owners of the amusement park. I mean what are they supposed to think when a gym leader from Sinnoh caused a bunch of chaos and a top level trainer from Johto joined in!"

"Huh, wait but you just gave me a kiss. Doesn't that mean I'm off the hook?"

She reached down and hooked her arm under his, dragging him to his feet, even though he would prefer to stay seated. "Of course not silly! You still joined in on her mayhem! I expected better of you."

"Ugh," he said as she giggled.


	15. Chapter 14: Nothing Happened Really

"Well Wiggler, I guess you've really been out of the loop but Pitch has been sort of filling your place while you were gone."

Wiggler let out an annoyed squeak but Pitch ignored him. "Hey, he doesn't mean any harm. There's room for both of you to be out. He can ride on my shoulder, while you get to bounce along. You don't expect me to carry you, do you?"

Wiggler got a mischievous look on his face and Ethan shook his head. "Don't even think about it."

He walked up the streets of Tachikawi City, eager to be back in Unova, even though his little adventure in Sinnoh was kinda fun. "Well Mika said to meet her at her gym, I wonder if that's where they've all gathered? She didn't say either way."

Wiggler let out a squeak. "The others? I mean the other gym leaders. Jasmine, Marlon, Skyla and Iris the Champion. Then there is still the Elite Four but I haven't gotten the chance to meet them yet."

Wiggler looked at him a bit confused and let out another squeak. Pitch fired back with a chirp of his own, only causing more confusion on the part of Wiggler. "Why am I not with Jasmine? Uh, that's a long story. You've really been out of the loop."

Wiggler looked annoyed but that passed. "Well the only other one I've found was Rai and I gave him to Jasmine. I think Team Rocket has the rest of the team and I know we can get them back."

He walked up to the entrance to Homika's gym and stepped inside. He could see the large neon sign with her name on but all the other lights were off. "Huh, I wonder what's the—"

Suddenly all the lights turned on and music began to pump into the area. He heard a large amount of cheers all around and saw that the gym now had seats all around, each one filled with screaming fans. Really loud fans at that. As he strode toward the stage arena, large spotlights shone on the floor in front of the neon sign. A door opened and rising from the hole in the floor was Homika, her back turned to him and her guitar around her shoulders. She held up a hand and someone, from somewhere tossed her a mic. "All right, are you guys ready to rock?"

The crowd roared in approval but of course it was enough for her. She stomped her foot. "I said…are you ready to rock? I know you guys didn't come all this way for a classical concert, now did you? Did you?" She yelled. The crowd roared even louder for her and she laughed.

"That's right, that's right…that's what I wanted to hear! And rock we shall!"

So why was he here again? He, Pitch and Wiggler all exchanged confused looks. Was she really holding a mini concert here? "I mean it's cool to see she's still performing but—"

"Oh…and what's this? Who has wandered into the rock arena here? Who is brave enough to take on the Queen of Rock and Roll and Queen of all that is Poison? Huh, who is it?" She asked as she turned around. Suddenly he noticed several more spotlights turn on and focus on him. "Well…look who has decided to make a return appearance!"

He could hear some laughter in the crowd but Homika didn't seem to like it. "Hey goobers, show some respect! It's not everyday you get a legendary trainer from another region before. But does he have what it takes to take the gym from my hands…well does he?"

From the sounds of it, the crowd didn't think so. So this is what it was, a battle? Well if he was gonna help take down Team Rocket, more training was always helpful. He walked up onto the stage while she beamed with pride. She pointed a finger in his direction. "All right E, you've stepped into the ring so that means you've got the guts to take on me, the Queen of Poison!" She yelled as she jumped into the air and slashed her fingers across the strings on her guitar. Suddenly loud music began to pump in and he looked up and noticed her band playing on a platform behind and above them in the back. Homika took off her guitar and handed it to an assistant. She pulled out a Pokeball from her dress. "All right, let's go Koffing!"

He stepped back as she summoned her Koffing and glanced over at Wiggler and Pitch. "Well we don't have a ground or a psychic—"

Wiggler interrupted him with a squeak and he laughed. "Yea I forgot you know a couple of psychic attacks. Well you haven't gotten the chance to battle it out so I guess you get to go up first."

Wiggler bounced forward and her eyes grew wide. She probably didn't expect to see Wiggler of all Pokemon but he couldn't blame her. "That balloon thing? Well fine, Koffing use Toxic!"

Of course she would lead with that. Wiggler took the blast of poison sludge in slide and even shrugged it off. Seeing all the musical instruments must have inspired him because he suddenly belted out a tune. Unfortunately for everyone else, it wasn't the calm and soothing tune that would put anyone to sleep or the deep soulful voice he used to charm anyone. No, he would have preferred those but instead what came out was a horrible screeching sound, Wiggler's off key voice. Pitch let out a cry of pain while he took out some ear buds he always kept under his hat and put them in. All around, he could see people crying out in pain, begging to be released from their pain. Homika was forced to plug her ears too and her poor Koffing looked utterly dazed from the awful tune. Wiggler let up after a few minutes and pointed his little arms toward his head. He took out the earplugs, as he knew what was coming next. Soon, Wiggler used Psychic to pick up Koffing and bounce him around the gym like a pinball.

By the time he had released him, Koffing looked pretty worse for wear and Homika was forced to call him back. She shook her fist. "That f***ing balloon."

Wiggler let out an amused squeak and bounced over to him. She took out a second Pokeball. "Well…you haven't seen this one before! Let's go Scolipede!"

She summoned a large centipede like Pokemon to the arena. It was reddish purple with bright purple stripes along its back and purple rings along each segmented part of its body. It towered over her and him but if she was thinking summoning a new Pokemon to him was gonna surprise him…boy was she in for a shock. He already could see it was part bug and he knew just the guy for the job. He took out the Pokeball and summoned Chase. The crowd laughed as the puny ghost candle stood in the shadow of the large centipede.

"A candle? Is this some sort of joke? Scolipede, body slam this candle into a puddle of wax!"

His eyes grew as wide as saucers. He wanted to say something…anything as to why she would use a normal move on a ghost of all things. He, Wiggler and Pitch could only share confused looks as the centipede jumped into the air and true to form, passed right through Chase and crashed onto the ground. Chase's flame grew from a small flame into a huge ball of fire and he looked over at the crowd, noticing quite a few people looking tired or even ready to pass out. If he wasn't doing that to feed, he was probably doing it to get more power. It cast a stream of fire down at the bug, enveloping Scolipede in a large flame. It even left it with a few burns. The bug got to its feet and Homika shook her fist. "How could I forget it's a stupid ghost? All right, how about we pay that ghost back in full?"

"Pay back with…uh-oh, watch out Chase!" He yelled but before Chase could move, Scolipede jumped at it and smacked the ghost multiple times with its limps. "Darn it, I didn't know he could learn Payback," he said. Chase began to fall toward the ground but he summoned him back before that could happen. Homika laughed as the crowd roared in approval.

"You weren't expecting that, were you? Well, shows you need to be prepared at all times!"

Pitch suddenly took off his shoulder like a rocket but he looked mad. Furious even. The bug Pokemon didn't have time to move as Pitch increased his speed, becoming so fast that you could see multiple images of him. Ethan wiped his eyes as Pitch seemed to vanish entirely and you could see the large centipede winced as he was slashed with the wind, causing a small line to appear across its body. Pitch continued his furious attack, unleashing a whole slew of Air Slash attacks on the bug until it could take no more and began to slump over. Homika summoned it back. "D*** bird. E, I hate your team! Fine, I guess it's time for the last one. Let's go Weezing!"

Just as he came out, Pitch finished with a final Air Slash but when he appeared again, he wasn't the small and mouthy eagle chick he was known for but as a Braviary. He had been shown a picture of it by Homika but he was still impressed with how tough he looked. It was obvious though, he wasn't gonna be able to perch on his shoulder anymore. He turned to face Weezing and let out a loud cry. "Oh so you think just because you grew up that you can get the drop on me? Ha, think again! Weezing, use Explosion!"

"What?" He said before he noticed Weezing create a smaller duplicate of it which it sent flying toward Pitch. Pitch didn't seem fazed as he flew into the air and began to use its wings to cause a powerful gust, sending the duplicate right back into Weezing. Weezing didn't have time to get out of the way and took the attack straight to the face. The explosion knocked it straight to the ground and pushed Homika back. She looked up as the dust cleared and realized she had lost her last Pokemon. "H-huh?"

"Well…I think that's my win, don't you?"

Homika summoned her Weezing back and laughed. "Well…it looks like Johto boy showed he still has the chops!"

Wiggler let out an angry squeak and he could only agree. He really hated that nickname. Only Gary had used it on him and he was quick to show the former Champion that he wasn't to be slept on. She grabbed her guitar and began to play a tune on it. "Well then, let's give it up to the new owner of the Toxic Badge!"

The crowd roared in approval as he stepped forward. She took out the badge and handed it to him with a smile. "Thanks—"

"Glad to have made you work for it. Now, let's continue on! That match was just the prelude, now it's time for the main event!"

After the mini concert, they sat together on the edge of the stage, a large towel around her neck. "Well, I haven't had that much fun in a long time!"

"So this is why you wanted to meet me here, to challenge me? Seems like a great idea."

"Yea…kinda. Well yea I guess I wanted to give you some training since we can't be dragging dead weight around."

Wiggler let out a surprised squeak but he tapped him on the head. "She's joking."

"Is it wrong that I just want to spend some time with you alone?"

"No."

"Good. So how was it in Sinnoh?"

"Cold."

"Other than that!"

"Well…I already told you that Lyra kidnapped me and planned to mind wipe me—"

"She…what?"

He laughed and waved her off. "Don't worry. I was able to talk her out of it and—"

She grabbed him by the collar and pulled his face close to her. "Don't worry? Don't worry? I was about ready to fly over there myself and tear her apart! I don't care if she's just a girl, she had you captured and could have done horrible things to you!"

"S-sorry Mika, I guess I should have called you a bit earlier to let you know what happened to me."

She loosened her grip. "Y-yea. Well you're here now so that's all that matters," she said as she inched closer to him. "Still, you should have dragged her back over here so I could have really given her a piece of my mind. And if you thought I was bad, you should have seen Jasmine!"

"I didn't want to be around her anymore after she did that."

"Yea, I guess you're right. I'll get my revenge later. Well…we were able to chase them out of Nimbasa City. I hope you weren't expecting us to hide in a corner and cry until you came back."

"I didn't to be honest."

She jabbed him. "I'm kidding. It's just not as fun without you around. Iris is a brat and Jasmine is just…Jasmine."

He looked at her. "Huh, what's wrong with her?"

"She's an introvert! She's quiet. The only time she likes to talk is when you're around, even if you're in the next room or something."

"Hey, not everyone can be a loud mouth—"

"Are you talking about me?"

"Well I meant myself but if you think that fits you—"

"I agree, it's just you," she said, brushing back her hair. She kicked off her boots and sighed. "So is Pitch the first one of your new team that evolved?"

He shook his head. "Nope, Bolt—"

"That's all I need to know."

"Don't you want to see him?"

"What do you think?" She said in a grave voice. He took out the Pokeball holding Bolt and she suddenly grabbed for it. She pushed him over and landed atop him as the Pokeball fell on its button, summoning Bolt. She grabbed his shirt with her fists as Bolt crawled over. "Get away, get away, get away! Get it away from me!" She yelled as she bounced his head up and down on the stage. He looked over at Bolt through the pain. He must have got the message as he crawled away and returned to his Pokeball. Homika released him and rested her face in his chest, laughing. "Th-th-that wasn't very funny!"

"But you have a Pokemon that's a centipede! What's the difference? Bolt only has eight."

She looked up at him. "He's a spider and that's all that matters. It was okay when he was a Joltik; he was even a little cute. Now? He's not cute, he's terrifying."

"He means no harm though."

She let out a sigh and stared into his face. "How about we not talk about that and about us?"

"Huh? I thought we talked it out? I already forgave you for that silly little argument and you were even more right about—"

"What, please don't tell me you're that clueless!"

He looked over at Pitch and Wiggler but they had scurried off somewhere else. Grand time to leave him alone like this, he could have asked them what she was talking about. "Well I guess you'll have to spell it out to me."

"Remember back when we first met, on the concert stage? I dragged you on stage?"

"Well kinda. It's been awhile and then Team Rocket crashed the concert so I guess my mind focused on them."

She laughed as she sat up, still sitting atop him. "Man, you don't remember what happened on stage?"

"I'm sorry…no."

She giggled. "You really are as clueless as they said," she said as she leaned over and pressed her forehead against his. "How can someone as smart as you be so clueless when it comes to girls? Especially someone who has nothing but girls as friends."

"Ahhh well," he said, reaching up to wipe his forehead. She sat up again and sighed.

"Well I did ask you to come here so I could take you on in a battle and test your skills out but…well," she said as she reached up toward her shoulders. She reached behind her back and he heard a zipper. "I had another reason."

"Ahhh Mika…what's that weird look on your—"

"Hey quiet, I'm trying to have a moment with you! When your girlfriend is with you, alone, in a darkened gym, half dressed…I'm not here to discuss plans for global domination! Or Team Rocket. Or anything else."

"You mean a kiss?"

"Is that a serious question?"

"W-w-well it's the only thing I can think of."

She smiled. "Your mom must have missed out on that talk before you bolted out the house to go on your journey," she said as she winked at him. "Don't worry, I'm about to give you an abrupt crash course."

"H-huh…ahhh…"

Suddenly he heard the door opening. "Ahh…hello? Is anyone here?"

Homika dragged him over to the other edge of the arena and pointed a finger at him. "Stay right here," she said as she zipped up her zipper and walked away. He shook his head as he realized who the voice was. "Jasmine, what are you doing here?"

"Huh? Ahh oh well…you said Ethan was back in Unova and you two were supposed to meet up with us in Nimbasa…"

"So you had to come down here and check? Nimbasa isn't exactly a hop and a skip you know…besides, he was a bit tired from his trip and wanted to relax a bit before we got back to business."

"Oh, I'm sorry…you're right. I was just being overly worried again."

"Ugh, don't worry about it. He's okay, just a bit tired."

He wasn't tired! He felt like sitting up and greeting Jasmine but something told him that Mika would show her ugly side again if that happened. "Yes, you're right. Well please tell I said hi and we'll see him when you two return to Nimbasa."

"Of course I will. We should be over there shortly. A few hours at least."

He let out a sigh and sat up. He felt Homika rest her feet on his shoulders. "Well that was close."

"Close but—"

"Ugh…that's not gonna happen a second time, come with me!"

"Huh but where are we going now? Shouldn't we be getting ready to meet up with them in Nimbasa?"

She looked back at him with a sly smile. "Oh uh, well there's a back room with a couch there. You can lie down there."

"But I'm not even all that tired."

She spun to face him and stroked his cheek with her hand as she cocked her head to the side. "Do you want to go to Nimbasa and get yelled at by that bratty Iris or do you want to spend some time with your lovely girlfriend?"

"Ahh well…I guess the second option but what are you going to do to me?"

She looked away and shrugged as her dress slumped a bit on her shoulders. "I don't know…things, I guess."

"Hey, what took you guys so long? Jasmine said it was only a few hours!" Iris yelled. She looked over at her watch. "When did a few hours become—"

"Oh hush," Homika said as she reached down and messed up Iris' hair. "We still got here in time, right?"

"Yea but that still doesn't answer my question."

Homika shrugged. "Remember, I relayed to you guys that he had been captured by Lyra and help captive. That would shake anyone up. I think he's still a bit shaken up by it so leave him be."

Iris glanced over at him but he could only rub the back of his head and look away. "What?"

"Ethan, are you sure you're okay?" Jasmine asked.

"Uh…yea…just uhh…fine, peachy even."

She frowned. "Then why do you look so disheveled? You look like you lost a twelve round fight with a Hitmochan."

"Since when did you make jokes Jazz?" Homika said. Jasmine looked over at her and then at him. "I told you, just leave him be. Where are the others?"

Jasmine blushed. "Oh ah, they're at the gym. One of the Elite Four was able to make it out here too."

"Sweet, well we really shouldn't keep them waiting any longer, right?"

"Ahhh but what about Ethan?"

"Oh uh…huh, good question. You can try talking him out of his funk, I don't think I was able to get to him."

Homika hurried off with Iris close behind but Jasmine didn't leave just yet. He gathered himself and began to follow after Homika and Iris but Jasmine tugged on his sleeve. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. "What is it?"

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine…really fine. Just peachy even."

Jasmine turned to face him. "But you look as nervous as I've ever seen you before—hey, why aren't you looking at me?"

"No reason."

She stomped her foot. "I'm your best friend. I think I know when something is bugging you! So what is it? I'm not leaving until I get an answer."

He looked away and then up at the sky and then at her. He laughed nervously. "Ahhh oh…uh…well Mika…well we had a pretty awesome Pokemon battle. She suggested that my team needed a bit more training so we had several training sessions."

Jasmine leaned forward and sniffed him. He jumped back and she folded her arms. "Why do you have Homika's perfume on you?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Well she was real happy to see me after that ordeal so she hugged me. I think she had…other plans but I didn't know what she was going to do to me so…uh we just trained some more."

Her eyes grew wide. "H-huh? She did what?"

Wiggler let out an amused squeak and he shot a glare at him. "Hey, how about you keep quiet!"

"I think I'm gonna have a word with Homika."

"Ugh, please don't do that. I was just getting used to the two of you getting along…somewhat. I don't want to see you two arguing again."

"I won't fuss too much. I just think she jumped the gun a bit. I can't believe she did that to you!"

"Huh, do what? I didn't say any—"

"You didn't have to say a thing," she said as she walked off. He shot a glare at Wiggler who looked at him with an amused look.

"Hey, stop giving Jasmine ideas. You know what happens when she gets ideas?"

Wiggler tried to play dumb and he tapped him on the head. "I swear, you've been hanging out too much with Erika, haven't you? Well let's go to the gym."

By the time he arrived at the gym, Jasmine and Homika were nowhere to be found but Skyla, Iris, Marlon and Marshal were there. While he hadn't met them before, he had seen pictures of them but both were a bit more muscular than he imagined. He glanced around. "Uh…where did Homika and Jasmine go?"

Skyla giggled. "Oh, Jasmine came in her looking pretty mad and dragged poor Homika away."

"Ahhh well…I guess I'll worry about them later."

"You have the stupidest look on your face," Iris said.

"So Ethan man, Homika said you found some information in Sinnoh."

Ethan nodded and took out the folder. He opened it and handed some papers to all of them. "Yep, after I freed myself from Lyra's control with Pitch's help, me and two old friends from Sinnoh ran across some Team Rocket labs—"

"Old friends?"

He nodded at Iris. "Maylene and Candice, two gym leaders from Sinnoh. Anyways while we were there, we came across these papers. It looks like Team Rocket had plans for my old team."

Skyla tapped the piece of paper against her head. "That seems a bit…you know…what's the word I'm thinking of?"

"Petty?" Iris asked.

Skyla's eyes lit up. "Yep, yep! Petty that's it!"

"Ugh, you're such a—"

"Iris, be nice. You don't have to treat her like that," he said. "So…yea I agree with Skyla, it does seem a bit petty but what can you do? At least they can't use the element of surprise on us, right? I guess—"

"And it looks like they've been forcing evolution on even more Pokemon than we expected," Marshal said with a grumble. He made a fist and Ethan feared he would smash the nearby table but he seemed to control his anger.

"Uh…how are things at the League?"

He folded his arms. "Not much has changed. They've been camping out there, content to just take on any trainers foolhardy enough to challenge them but so far no one has made it past the first member of the Elite—"

"More like the Wicked Four," Ethan said. Marshal's eyes grew wide at being interrupted but he laughed instead.

"Haha, I think I like that term much better!"

"I remember seeing some of these Pokemon with Team Rocket but I didn't know their types. It's nice to know now, we have a better chance of finding a weakness rather than making random guesses," Marlon said. He shook his head.

"So well we know about the Pokemon they have and the Pokemon they could have…so now what? Should we go to the League and kick them out?"

"Well there's another issue. I just got word of it from Caitlin that Team Rocket has taken control of another city…this time Castelia."

"Ugh, really? We just got done, wasting several days chasing them out of Nimbasa; only to find out they took over the city just to the south? This is stupid, why are we wasting the time?" Iris asked. "We should just go take them out at the League right now!"

"And let them come from behind and take us out?"

Iris folded her arms like a pouting child. "Yea…I think we should chase them out of Castelia. Besides, it'll give me time for more training—"

"Why do we need to wait for you to get your team of baby Pokemon trained up? Most of the Pokemon you have need a lot of training before they can evolve, especially Deino…or whatever you call him. We can do just fine even if you don't help out all that much."

She was really starting to get on his nerves. Skyla laughed. "Yea but it's not like you had that much success either."

"Element of surprise. If I knew they were coming, I would have been better prepared—"

"Isn't it the job of the Champion to always be prepared?" Ethan asked. He sighed. "Anyway…with all of us working together, we should be able to chase them out in no time."

"Again…wait, why are you in charge anyways?"

"Ugh Iris can you just shut up? When was the last time you dealt with a villainous gang? Did you hear about what they tried to do in Johto? I helped Lance put them away in one town while me and Crystal helped defeat Giovanni and chased them out of Goldenrod. The two of us, chased out an entire gang controlling a whole city. And then in Sinnoh, I had to help defeat the nefarious plans of Team Galactic as well and that was after Charon had succeeded in his own plans in using Arceus to mold the world into his wish. I'm so much of a threat that Team Rocket's main goal seems to be destroying me first before they can go forward with their goals. Why else do you think they're willing to just toe the line? As soon as I'm done, they'll go forward with their plans but because their own boss respects my prowess, they will tread carefully. They even captured my own Pokemon and experimented on them to make them stronger because they respect their strength that much. I recognize you're the Champion but guess what? I've held my own against Cynthia, Crystal, Gary and Lance. So please stop acting like you're all that, it's really irritating me!"

They all exchanged looks and Wiggler let out a relieved squeak. Iris' face was bright red. "Ahh…ummm…"

"Whoo…sorry about that. I just had to get that off my chest. So…any questions?" He asked with a smile. Skyla smiled back at him and winked.

"Nope, everything is stellar! So we'll go to Castelia and kick them out? I'm up for that, I always enjoy giving them the boot!"

Marshal nodded. "I think you guys should be okay here so I'll return to the Elite Four and key them in. We'll continue to keep an eye on Team Rocket at the League but they don't seem in that much of a mood to do anything. Looks like they're waiting for the special guest of the hour."

"All right Ethan, we'll meet you over in Castelia then! Try not to waste too much time or else me and Marlon will kick them all out before you guys get there!" Skyla said with a laugh. The three of them left, leaving only him and Iris. She was still red in the face from the verbal spanking he had given her. He turned to leave and she cleared her throat.

"Huh, what is it?"

"Umm…err…sorry."

Wiggler let out a squeak and Pitch was just as surprised. "Huh? Oh that's okay."

"I guess…you're a bit tougher of a trainer than I thought. I just thought you were some no name trainer who was just friends with a bunch of gym leaders but I guess what Lance and the others have said about you was true."

He shrugged. "Whatever, don't worry about it."

"I guess…or well…ah never mind."

He smiled and folded his arms. "Can we at least try to get along?"

She smirked just a tad. "I guess we can try. It'd help if you had some official title to let people know about your skill."

"Yea…well…sometimes you just don't get those."

"I bet if you become Champion—"

"Ahhh I kind of think I'm passed that phase. It was cool at the time to strive for that but the longer it goes on, the less interested I am in doing that. It takes so much work and effort…do I really want to go through with that again? I thought if I became the Champion that people would respect me but it doesn't bother me so much anymore."

"Unless it's someone like me, right?"

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Ahh well…I usually don't do that. I don't know what happened to me back there."

Iris folded her arms. "What happened to you?"

He sighed. "Nothing really."

"So do we need to find Homika and Jasmine to fill them in?"

He nodded. "Yea, I guess we should."

They left the gym and didn't have to go far before they ran into Homika and Jasmine, having a very spirited discussion outside the entrance to the amusement park. Actually it looked more like a full-blown argument. The two of them were so involved that they didn't notice the two of them walk up. Iris looked over at him and groaned. "What is this about? And they've been at it all this time?"

"Looks like it," he said with a sigh. He cleared his throat. "Hey you two!"

Neither girl paid him any mind as they continued their argument. As he expected, they were arguing about him but what about? He looked over at Wiggler. Wiggler let out a happy squeak and bounced over. He let out another of his glass shattering awful tunes…a song that would cause babies to cry, men to weep and even kill hardy plants. Homika and Jasmine finally stopped their arguing and noticed the four of them.

"Oh hey, glad to see you two join us again!"

"Ethan…"

"Ugh, while you two were arguing, we were discussing what to do next! What were the two of you arguing about again?"

Jasmine blushed. "N-nothing."

"She's being unreasonable!"

"Ugh stop acting like kids! And you two are being all vague and stuff! How about you come out and tell us what had you two up in arms so we can get to the important stuff!" Iris yelled.

"Iris, you're too young for this talk!"

"What, but I'm the Champion! If I'm good enough to be a Champion, I'm—"

"Oh…Iris could you just leave us alone for a bit."

"Oh come on? Why can't I stay?"

He smiled at her. "Because I need to yell at both of them."

"And I can't stay? Ahhh, fine…can I just plug my ears instead?"

"Yea…you can do that. And you better keep them plugged!"

"Okay, okay! You don't have to yell at me again," she said.

"Again?" Jasmine asked.

He looked at her and laughed. "Ahh…uhh Iris and me just had to have a little talk. Nothing serious that's all. So what are you two arguing about?"

"Ohh umm…nothing," Jasmine said.

"Just stuff," Homika said with a shrug. He looked at the two of them with a glare. He looked over at Wiggler. "Do you got a really awful tune in you? Something even worse then you've ever sung before?"

By the look on his face, he did. "Ahhh Ethan, please don't do that."

"Then what's the problem? I was hoping you two had made peace with each other but now you two are…what's the problem?"

Jasmine's faced turned bright red. "E…Ethan, what did she do to you last night?"

"Th-that's what you two were arguing about?"

"Yes! I don't know what's the big deal. We only ended up cuddling and kissing. What's the big deal?"

"That's not the truth and you know it!"

"Oh? What's it matter to you? You're not even dating him, you're just his friend!"

"Yea but—how do you know he was ready for that. He thinks the pinnacle is kissing a girl. And to just go from kissing to…umm…you should have considered his feelings."

He let out a sigh. "She did consider my feelings Jasmine."

"Oh…she did?"

Homika sighed. "See? We didn't need to have this stupid argument; there are other things to worry about. You two said something about Castelia?"

"Yea like it's been taken over by Team Rocket. Skyla and Marlon are already on their way there and we should join them," he said. Iris unplugged her ears.

"Are you three done? Can we get going?"

"I…guess we can. I'm sorry Ethan, I was just too concerned…as usual."

"Can you really smell like her when you're just cuddling?" Iris asked. He looked over at her and shot her a look. "What? I couldn't help myself!"

"It's a strong perfume. Even if you hug for just a short time, it's pretty easy to pick it up."

"But he reeks of it almost! It's…kinda funny when he smells so fruity," she said with a laugh.

"Ahh yea…I think I might have to take a shower to get it off. Otherwise people might get the wrong idea."

"Yea…it's too bad we didn't have any time to shower after that," Homika said.

"You…what?"

Ethan sighed and looked at Iris but she shook her head. "Forget it! I'm not plugging my ears this time. It looks like they just started up again!"

"Skyla and Marlon really are gonna clear out Castelia before we get there…are they?"

"Yep!" Iris said, beaming with a smile.

"I thought you said you two cuddled!"

"Ugh, you really think you can handle the truth?" Homika said with a grin.

"Yes, I can handle the—"

"Enough, both of you! Ugh this is so stupid. Can we go now?"

Jasmine shook her head. "No."

"Fine…I don't know why you're being so stubborn about this Jasmine. And Homika, you don't have to taunt her about it. That's pretty cruel considering you know what me and Jasmine feel or felt—"

"Feel—"

"Okay feels about each other. You don't need to rub it in her face. Just be grown up about it. Man I got Iris' case but she seems tame compared to how you two are acting. Okay? Are we done here?"

Jasmine folded her arms. "I…guess so. Fine, fine…I'm sorry for being so silly."

Homika smirked. "Yea well…it was pretty immature of me to taunt her like that. Sorry as well."

He sighed. "Well good. Glad to see we came to an agreement. So again, are we done here?"

"Well…I guess I'm just still…curious."

"Are you sure you want to ask?"

"Jasmine, I was dry humping my guitar on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans to get his attention. Do you really need to ask what I did to him, alone and in a darkened gym?"

"I…I'm just gonna plug my ears again," Iris said, which she did. He was glad she did because he had a feeling what was coming next.

"Ummm…cuddle?"

"Of course. I already said I respected his feelings."

Wiggler let out a squeak and Homika looked over at him. "She's…what Wiggler?"

He looked away and began to whistle. Homika licked her fingers and giggled. "Oh fine fine. Wiggler's right. I'll stop being a jerk to her. I'm sorry Jasmine—"

His phone rang and he took it out and notice Skyla was calling him. It might have been important so he decided to answer it. "Uh, hello?"

"Hey, what's taking you guys so long? Are they still arguing?"

"No, I think we're past that. I'm just trying to get the message across that we need to—"

"I can't believe you did that. Couldn't you have…waited?"

"Sorry Jasmine but I'm a horny little rock star. I guess we could have waited until I dragged him to bed but I was tired of waiting—"

"Hey, what are they talking about?" Skyla asked in a singsong voice.

"Don't tell me you were in on this?"

"Oh about what Homika really planned to do? Well…yea. Marlon and me knew, we just decided against telling Jasmine. We didn't think she would take it well."

"No…she won't. Well she'll live. We'll…ummm be there shortly. Don't clear out the city before we get there."

"No promises!"

He hung up and noticed Jasmine was super red in the face. He looked over at Iris but she still had her ears plugged. "I told you that you were better off not knowing."

"You went with the brutal honest approach, didn't you?"

"If you mean telling her I f***ed you several times on the stage floor…no."

"You didn't tell me that!"

"I said it in simpler terms. You just didn't believe me. I thought he would faint dead away but…well I'm beginning to wonder if he's had a little practice before…with a certain someone even," she said with a smile. Again with the teasing? He was really thinking about ditching them and just taking Iris with him to Castelia instead. He even looked over at Iris and walked over to her. He rubbed her head.

"Okay, time to go Iris."

She unplugged her ears. "Oh are they finally done? When can we just get back to kicking Team Rocket butt?"

"I like the way you think—"

"M-maybe he has had a little practice before…I don't think we would have remembered afterwards," Jasmine said, an evil smile forming on her face.

Wiggler and Pitch let out surprised noises. "You know what, I'm just gonna go now. Bye," he said as he hurried off. He wasn't sure he wanted to know if Jasmine was just screwing around or not. Best not to ask.


	16. Chapter 15

"So tell me, why should I work with you again, after you betrayed me once before? You didn't deliver the gym leaders or the Champion to me. And he is still running around free and clear."

She giggled. "I told you already, that jerk Homika prevented your boys from delivering those three gym leaders to you. I didn't have any part of that…she's so paranoid, she must have eavesdropped on me. She surprised me by going out there to save them though."

"Still…"

She held up a finger and smiled. "You would want to work with me because this time, I won't bother with capturing those stupid gym leaders and the Champion. I'll just kill them all and save ourselves both the trouble."

"How do you even plan to do that?"

"I have my ways."

"Yes and what about Ethan? We both know you have no interest in turning him over to me."

"Oh I will but I doubt you'll have much use for him. You see, he cares very much for his friends and if he were somehow…being forced to watch all his friends get killed, imagine what that would do to his psyche! He'd be mentally crushed! I doubt he'd be much of a threat to you then. I mean you could still crush him in a Pokemon battle if you want but I think you're beginning to lose patience. All your people are in your ear, telling you to stop with the charade and just crush him already. This way we both get what we want. I know I'm sure that you would like to go forward with conquering the rest of the world."

"So you kill all the gym leaders and the Champion and deliver the mentally broken Ethan to me? If he does turn out to be as mentally broken as you said, he wouldn't be of any use to me."

"Exactly."

Ethan shoved aside a large trashcan and walked up to the back door of one of the larger buildings in Castelia. A couple of Purrloin jumped out, causing him to jump as well. He replaced the top and heard Iris groan. "So why are we sneaking around?"

"The same reason we snuck around in Nimbasa, we're outnumbered twenty to one."

"I just got done wearing a stupid Team Rocket uniform and now I have to do it again?"

"Oh stop whining Iris. This is only your first time dealing with them. I've been sneaking around in Team Rocket uniforms so much…I still have a few unused ones in my closet back home, just in case."

Her eyes grew wide. "Are you just screwing with me?"

Wiggler let out a squeak and he smirked. "Wiggs knows what's up. Besides, we have plenty of help. When me and Crystal took on Team Rocket, it was just the two of us in Goldenrod."

"Ummm, Ethan? I'm just wondering why I'm with you two," Skyla asked. They looked back at her and Iris cleared her throat.

"Because Jasmine and Homika are being dumb and we need a distraction."

"Huh? A distraction? What are you talking about?"

"I mean—"

"Iris is correct on the first part but that's it. We don't need to worry about distractions, we're sneaking around as is."

Iris looked at him and put her hands on her hips. "So how do we sneak around when you have this…balloon thing of evil bouncing around?"

Wiggler let out an angry squeak. "He'll go back into his ball eventually. I know I can't keep him out because if I do, everyone will know who I am. I mean do you know anyone else with a mouthy Wigglytuff?"

"Why do you have a Wigglytuff anyways? They suck!"

He opened the door, choosing to ignore her instead. He stepped inside what looked like the kitchen area and could hear pots and pans banging. He poked his head around and saw a Machamp, furiously washing a bunch of dishes, one set of hands washing while anther set dried them. He looked over at Wiggler who nodded and bounced in. He let forth a soothing and calm tune, which put the Machamp to sleep at once. Ethan smiled as he summoned him back to his ball and motioned for the others to enter. "Now do you see why I have one?"

"Yea…well…maybe I guess."

He walked past the kitchen area and noticed the cafeteria was filled with Team Rocket members. "Isn't it pretty late for dinner?"

"I didn't even know Team Rocket…ate. I guess they need to get their din din in as well," Skyla said. Ethan and Iris looked at her with blank expressions for a few minutes before looking away.

"So…well I guess we could just walk on by but I'm worried that if we cause some trouble, they could come up from behind and cause us more trouble."

Iris sighed. "So what do you suggest? Have you balloon—"

"His name is Wiggler, get it right. And he's defeated a lot more formidable opponents then you have in your lifetime. So have a little respect."

"…fine," she said. He took out the Pokeball holding Wiggler and Chase.

"I know of a way, Wiggler can sing them to sleep while Chase drains away their energy. Even when they wake up, they'll be too tired and lethargic to do a thing, or be any sort of threat to us."

"You know Ethan, it's kind of creepy how willing you are to use that ghost candle to suck away the life energy of people. You're gonna get him used to that and he'll start doing that without being asked to."

"I make sure he minds."

"Still…"

"I won't let him get out of hand. I already know what they can be like," he said. He summoned the two of them and explained the situation. As soon as they left, he could hear a bunch of talking and hushed whispers as everyone seem to recognize Wiggler right away. Wiggler soon began to serenade them with another soothing tune which had everyone knocked out in an instant, while Chase drained away all the life energy he needed. By the time they entered the cafeteria, everyone looked half dead while sleeping like babies.

"They look horrible."

"They'll be fine. They'll recover after a bit, they just won't be a threat to us."

His phone rang and he sighed. He answered it. "Hello?"

"Ethan, where are you guys?"

"We're in the cafeteria right now. Wiggler and Chase just dealt with a cafeteria full of—"

"Oh okay. So why am I working with Jasmine and Marlon again?"

"You and Jasmine are being silly, that's why."

"Fine, whatever. Well we haven't found much. All the Team Rocket people sound pretty nervous though. They seem to know we're in town, somewhere and they aren't looking forward to dealing with us."

"You'd think they'd be more confident. They outnumber us."

"Yea well I don't think they care much for this idea of Giovanni's to wait for you to get strong enough so he can crush you. I don't get it…we're gym leaders, shouldn't they be talking about us in hushed whispers?"

"You remember they crushed the Elite Four and the Champion. I don't think they are that scared of the gym leaders."

"Ugh, just once I'd like for them to speak about my name in hushed tones."

"Well if you're me, I'm sure they will soon enough."

"All right well…hey, what the f***? What are you doing here?" Homika yelled and he had to hold the phone away from his ear as she let out a string of obscenities. Skyla and Iris looked at him confused and he could only share in their confusion. He pressed the phone against his ear again.

"Mika?"

"Ahhh sorry E, I have to hang up. That stupid b**** Lyra just showed up."

"Lyra? She's here?"

"Yes, she's here! She won't be long for this world though, I can tell you that much. And don't even tell me to go gentle on her!"

"Well…just try not to get arrested for murder."

"Yea…fine," she said as she hung up. He sighed.

"Well looks like Lyra's around."

"Lyra?" Skyla asked.

Iris shrugged. "Just some childish dressed chick that has a huge crush on Ethan. You should have seen the two of them; they were all over each other! They were always touching each other, hugging—"

"Uh that was Lyra. I tried to get her to give me some space—"

"Really? You weren't doing a good enough job then. I swear, every time I turned around, her tongue was halfway down your throat—"

"Now wait just a minute…"

"If you hated it so much, you could have been more forceful."

"She's clingy! There was nothing I could do!"

"Well you two could have stopped kissing for a minute and breath."

"Like I said before, she is very clingy. There was nothing I could do."

They explored the rest of the bottom floor but there wasn't much to discover. There were a lot of Team Rocket members but thanks to Wiggler and Chase, there were a lot of dozing Team Rocket members. They stood in the middle of a library, filled with sleeping Team Rocket members and Skyla sighed. "So are we just gonna put everyone to sleep?"

"I don't know, you want to defeat them all in battles?"

Skyla frowned. "What about you Ethan? I thought you wanted to get some training so you can take on Giovanni?"

He shrugged. "Maybe but I don't think I need to try and fight fair if he doesn't want to. He wants to use hacked Pokemon, then I can use whatever means I need to beat him."

"Ahh well…I guess that works!"

"These floozies aren't even worth the time Skyla! I mean I would love to crush them too but…why bother?" Iris asked.

She shrugged. "I guess…so are we just gonna explore every floor?"

"Not if I can help it. Let's just find a way to get to the top, from what I heard, one of the executives is up at the top—"

"Actually while you two were busy, I overheard one guy talking about how they had a gym leader on the fourteenth floor."

"Oh really? Well let's go check that out—"

The phone rang again and he sighed. "Man, you really are whipped. Homika has to keep checking on you," Iris said.

"I am not whipped—"

"Yea you are! She has her way with you all the time. You're her little boy toy and there's…nothing you can do about it."

"Yea well…uh hello?"

"Ummm E? We've got a problem."

"Huh, what kind of problem? Did Lyra get away or something?"

"Yea…"

"How? She was outnumbered, right?"

"She was outnumbered! Yet…well…that little f***er crushed us all in a battle. Took on all three of us at once and won."

"Oh."

"She looked harmless but then she just rolled over us. I haven't been beaten that bad since…well you I guess. Jasmine said the same thing…have you secretly been training her or something?"

He laughed. "That aside…"

"Ugh, she's dangerous. And she laughed and said that she was coming after the three of you next. You better be careful!"

"Don't worry, we'll be on guard—"

"She said…she was gonna kill all of us eventually and turn you over to Giovanni. I guess she's given up on trying to get with you."

"Yea right. This is Lyra we're talking about—"

"Well don't get with her!"

"Why would I do that?"

"I was kidding. Just…uh take care. And don't get captured."

After he hung up, he noticed Iris and Skyla looking at him. "So?"

"That was Mika. She told me Lyra…just defeated all three of them."

"At once?"

"In a game of chess?" Iris asked. He shook his head.

"Not at chess but at a Pokemon battle. All at once. As in one on three. And she steamrolled them."

"Her? Really? What did she do? Put them to sleep?"

He sighed. "No, it sounds like Lyra just beat them all fair and square. And she's coming after us next."

"Well that won't happen with me around! I'm the Champion!"

Skyla folded her arms. "Have you taken on three gym leaders at one time before?"

Iris frowned. "Well…not at once. What about you Ethan?"

"Well…I once took on Jasmine and Erika in a battle once…but that's about it."

"How did that go?"

"I won."

They got up to the fourteenth floor, which was crawling with even more Team Rocket members. One of them stopped Ethan in his tracks with a stern look on his face. "Hey…what are you doing on this floor?"

"Is there a problem?"

"We have a pretty important prisoner on this floor and low ranking grunts aren't allowed here. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

"Well there is a problem downstairs…Ethan and some of the gym leaders are crawling downstairs."

His eyes grew wide. "What? Ethan is here? He's actually here?"

"Yes…and if he's here, I think you should be less concerned about your prisoner and helping us deal with him! The guy already defeated an entire cafeteria full of people, by himself. If he can do that…"

"If he's actually here…" the guy said before hurrying off. Ethan looked at them and smirked.

"What an idiot."

"But what kind of prisoner could they have? A CEO? The mayor—"

"Maybe a gym leader, let's go check it out," he said. The other Team Rocket grunts walking around didn't take any notice of them as they walked around the floor. Most of the floor consisted of cubicles, many of which were occupied by grunts, using the computers for whatever. Some were playing games, others were browsing the Team Rocket website and a few others were looking up…other stuff. He poked his head into one cubicle and a guy looked up at him. "Oh hey, get a look at this!" He said as he turned the monitor toward him, giving him a view of a very unflattering photo of Homika. He turned red as the guy laughed and turned the monitor away. "Isn't that wild? She's freakin' hot and a super slut. I love girls like that."

He made a fist and felt Skyla put her hand on his shoulder. All he had to see was someone ogling Jasmine and he would destroy everyone on this floor. He stepped away and looked at the two of them. "Did I see what I—"

"You two will have to hold me back if I catch someone leering at pictures of Jasmine or else no one will survive."

Skyla smiled. "I don't think I will stop you."

"Me neither. I'm just gonna watch and laugh," Iris added. "Hey, what if you saw someone looking at pictures of me, or Skyla even?"

"Of you? I wouldn't care."

"You…what?"

He ignored her and kept walking around. It seemed like no one was getting any actual work done and he wondered how Giovanni would react if he knew they were doing this, especially with him running around. He would probably blow his top. They turned the corner and saw two large and burly Team Rocket grunts guarding a door. They looked down at him and he waved at them. "Oh hey—"

"What do you want?"

"I was hoping you two could leave, we need to talk with that person inside," he said. Skyla and Iris glanced at him with shocked looks but he ignored them. At this point, was there a big need for stealth? By just appearing unannounced, that would throw everything into chaos.

"Is this some sort of joke?"

He took out his Pokeball and let out Wiggler. "Nope."

"A…a Wigglytuff? Then that means…how did you get in here?"

"I'm an honorary member of Team Rocket you know. So can we step inside or does Wiggler have to get you to move?"

The two guards looked at each other and moved away from the door. He smiled at them as they walked inside. "What happened to everyone in Team Rocket chomping at the bit to stop you?"

"Scared off I guess."

"Or maybe they're just retreating to get backup," Skyla said.

"Well if that's true, we better not waste time."

Inside the conference room, sat atop a table was from the looks of it Elesa, dressed in her regular outfit but as they got closer, something didn't seem right. "Huh, Elesa?" Iris asked.

"Haha, it is Elesa! Hiya girl! I hope they've been treating you right here!"

Iris looked over at her. "Huh, you know Elesa?"

"Of course! She gives me fashion tips."

Iris began to speak up but Ethan shot her a look and she seemed to forget whatever smart aleck remark she had. As he got a closer look…he realized Elesa was a guy, dressed up as her. She turned around and smiled at them. "Why are you dressed up liked a girl?"

"Huh?"

Elesa laughed. "Hehe, how did you guess? I had Skyla and Iris pretty fooled and they know me pretty well. It's me, Cilan!"

"Ethan…how do you even know what a boy looks like?"

"Huh, what do you mean by that? Of course I know what a guy looks like, I'm a guy!"

Iris shrugged. "But you're always around girls!"

"She's right. I'm surprised you haven't turned into a girl, being around all that estrogen 24/7!"

"Maybe he really is—"

"Oh quiet you two," he said with a grumble. Cilan crossed his legs and he sighed. "So would you tell me why you're getting in touch with your feminine side?"

"Actually I did it to help Elesa escape. I managed to escape capture and made my way over here. I came across her here and it was decided that she should try to free the other gym leaders so…we switched places so to speak. No one was the wiser."

"Team Rocket is full of idiots."

Cilan smiled. "And you must be the infamous Johto trainer I hear so much about, Ethan isn't it?"

Iris chuckled. "So you've finally gotten past the label of Homika's boy toy?"

"Huh? I knew about him before he and Homika got together. How he helped defeat Team Rocket in Johto and how he's regarded as the third—"

"Ugh, stop sucking up to him. He's just a trainer—"

"Iris, if you don't mind, I'm gonna leave you here."

Iris folded her arms and stuck out her tongue. "I'd like to see you try."

Wiggler let out a squeak and he nodded. "Anyways Cilan, if you don't mind, we're gonna go to the top and see if we can talk with the Team Rocket executive in charge here."

"Of course!"

"Could you change at least?" Iris asked.

"Let him stay in it. Has charm—"

"Aren't you just saying that because you don't want another guy around? You never have a problem with more girls being around but—"

"What are you talking about? I didn't have a problem with Marlon helping…just stop spreading rumors Iris."

"What? I'm generally curious—"

"Quiet."

"So Cilan, do you know where some of the other gym leaders are being held?"

He winked. "Oh sure love! It seems they got them captured near the Giant Chasm."

"Oh…really?"

Ethan looked at the three of them, who all wore worried looks. "I don't get it, what's the problem? Is it a dangerous place or something?"

Cilan folded his arms. Well not…necessarily. It's just…how do I explain it?"

Skyla laughed. "Well the place has a reputation for being a place that brings bad luck to people who enter it. It sounds really silly I know but a lot of strange things have happened there. And you hardly know what Pokemon will show up to attack, it seems."

"Yea, that place is just bad news."

"Who cares? We need to rescue them, right?"

The three of them looked at him with shocked looks. "Yea but this is—"

"Eh, who cares? Between the four of us, we should be able to handle anything that comes our way. And if we have the other three, I really think we should be fine."

Cilan chuckled. "Well…I can't really argue with someone who has probably faced far worse than a forest cursed with bad luck."

"I have to agree," Skyla said with a laugh. "I guess that's why you're the leader of this ragtag bunch."

By the time they got to the top floor, there were very few Team Rocket grunts around. Actually the top floor looked as if there had been a great battle. The walls had various marks, holes and even burn marks, potted plants were overturned, couches destroyed and debris lay all over the floor. He stepped over a lamp and pushed it aside. "Wow…looks like someone got to the exec before we did."

"Who? I don't know of any trainer who would be tough enough to do that. The toughest Pokemon trainers around are us, Marlon's group and the Elite Four," Iris said.

Cilan walked over to one of the walls and examined the mark. "You know…this looks like the kind of mark a whip would leave. Maybe…Vine Whip?"

"How would you know that?"

"He uses grass Pokemon Iris, remember?"

"How am I supposed to remember something like that? There are too many gym leaders anyway!"

Ethan folded his arms. "Hey Wiggler, think you could use Vine Whip for us?"

"Huh?" The three said in unison while he and Wiggler glanced at them.

"Well he knows Metronome but Wiggler is smart enough to remember every move he's used via Metronome. It takes a little time for him to remember all the details but once he does, he can do it again. Some moves have come up enough that it's second nature to him."

Cilan tapped his chin. "You know, I'm beginning to see why this Pokemon is so legendary."

"It's still just a balloon."

Wiggler pointed his little arms toward his head as he tried to remember. A minute or two passed before he summoned a small vine and snapped it at the wall, leaving a mark similar to the old one. "Great job!"

"Looks like I was right, it was Vine Whip. So whoever came through here had a grass Pokemon."

"That still doesn't help us."

Ethan frowned before it dawned on him. He tapped his head. "I think I know who our culprit is. And it isn't what I would call an ally."

"Who?"

"Lyra. She has a Meganium. They can learn Vine Whip, somehow. Usually if the parents knew the move."

"Well…didn't they say she was lurking around?"

"She beat Homika, Jasmine and Marlon by herself. If she did that, then I'm sure she could come up here and chase off all of Team Rocket."

"Ethan…what's with you and girls?"

"She's just a little…off."

"Well you sure weren't saying that when she was all over you!"

He shot a glare at her. "Fine fine…I did think she was cute. And maybe I was a bit bummed after what Homika tried to do and then Lyra came around and was all warm and accommodating…oh forget it!"

"Oh. S-sorry."

That was one of the few nice things he had heard from her mouth. "Well if it is her, we better be on our guard."

"She really defeated three gym leaders by herself? If you weren't around, I wouldn't be so sure of our chances."

"You forgot that I'm here. You know, the Champion?"

"Who also lost to Team Rocket," Ethan said.

"Yea about the only person around here who can claim to having an edge as far as Team Rocket is concerned is Ethan. Now Lyra is another story."

"I think I can deal with her."

"She kidnapped you and held you captive. Leaving you alone with her seems like the worst idea around. Watch her use her words and influence to wrap you around her little finger. You already admitted in part that when you were emotionally vulnerable and she was very friendly and warm to you in a time of need, don't you think she could use that against you?" Skyla asked. They all looked at her and she laughed. "All well you know, that's just a silly theory of mine!"

"We should go in together," Cilan said. Ethan shrugged and then nodded.

He pushed open the doors to the main office and found Lyra, decked out in Team Rocket gear, sat atop the desk, legs folded and her Meganium sitting nearby. Her face lit up when she saw him. "Ethan! Oh…I suppose I should apologize first."

"Apologize?"

"Hey, why did you attack Marlon and the others?" Skyla asked. Lyra hopped down and sighed.

"I had to."

"That's not a good enough reason!"

She clasped her hands in front of her body and blushed. "Ethan, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for kidnapping you; I didn't mean to do it. You don't…you just don't understand how it is!"

"What are you talking about?"

"To be friends with someone, to laugh with them, to have them encourage you to follow your dreams…for people to tell you that all the memories you have of a person are false. That they didn't happen. Have you ever had that happen to you? Where you…know something happened to you, it was real but because of just one thing you did, almost no one will remember what you did?"

Wiggler let out a worried squeak and he felt a lump in his chest. That really hit a bit close to home. "Ethan, what is this loon going on about? It's like she's lost it again."

"Ethan…when you were on Mount Coronet, about to convince Arceus to change the world back to normal…tell me you remember our meeting? Perhaps you didn't because I never got to tell you my real identity but you mistaked me for Crystal. You encouraged me to enter contests."

Wiggler let out another alarmed squeak. "Oh umm…hmm…"

"Ethan? Is she crazy?"

"I'm not crazy! I know what I'm talking about! Ethan knows!"

"What is she talking about?" Cilan asked.

"She's talking about…uh…when Team Galactic…or mainly Charon ended up convincing Arceus to change the world completely. Team Rocket was an entity of good…but not really. They were at least respected. Pokemon training had gone out of style and everyone was into gambling at the Game Corner—"

"What?"

"It really happened but only a few seem to remember the world before it was changed."

"Team Rocket a respectable company? Sounds like a dream come true," a familiar voice said. Lyra gasped as she jumped away and the large chair behind her spun around.

"Giovanni? What are you—"

"You really expected me to trust a lunatic like you? Though hearing the same craziness from him, perhaps you aren't as crazy as I thought."

"Giovanni, I've got a lot of questions for you! Well not before we defeat you first!"

He stood up and chuckled as Lyra backed away. She joined the rest of their group but that was the least of his worries. He had been expecting someone like Archer or Ariana or maybe even Petrel but the big boss himself? He walked to the front of the desk and leaned against it. "You better mind yourself Ethan. If you don't, all I have to do is send a text message to one of my people and you can say goodbye to Marlon, Jasmine and Homika. I don't think you really want to lose those last two."

"Ahhh…"

"Now, can we speak alone or do I have to follow through with my threat?"

"No…we can talk alone," he said.

"That's a really bad idea but if he has Homika and the others…don't worry Ethan! Be careful!" Skyla said before dragging everyone else out. The doors slammed shut and he returned his attention to Giovanni.

"So what do you want?"

"I'll keep this short, you will surrender to me. I'm no longer interested in trying to fight you on an even level. I am on the verge of realizing my life long dream but the only way I can do that, is if you're out of the way."

"Surrender?"

"Surrender. Not before I punish all of your friends and loved ones for getting in the way of my plans time and time again."

"What?"

He walked back over behind the desk and picked up his cell phone. "I'll let you choose who goes first. New Bark Town or perhaps the Day Care Center?"

"I don't want to choose! Leave them alone!"

He shook his head. "That's not the answer I was looking for. Now choose or I will choose for you. And then you get to choose who dies first between Homika and Jasmine. And once I'm done, you'll be stuck in a dark room, alone. Now either you choose or else—"

"W-w-w-wait!" Ethan yelled. He looked over at Wiggler and gathered himself. "Don't kill them. Don't kill any of them."

"Interesting answer. Not the one I'm looking for."

Ethan looked up at him. "I think…I have something that would cause you to reconsider."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Are you willing to let me tell you or—"

Giovanni put down the phone. "I'm legitimately curious. Spell it out but make it quick. Then I will decide if it's worth considering."

"I think you'll like it," Ethan said, as he smiled.


	17. Chapter 16: Ethan the Wicked?

"What's taking him so long? They've been in there for an hour!" Iris yelled, stomping around the main lobby. "And why did we have to relocate here?"

"Hey, that's what Giovanni said. If he really is wiling to harm Ethan's friends if we don't do as he says…well…"

"Still! Between the four of us, we could have taken him! And then all of this would be over!"

"It really has been a while…I wonder if they still are even up there," Skyla said. "Maybe we should go check."

"Seems like a bad idea to me. We can wait just a little longer," Cilan said. He sighed. "I've got the feeling we aren't going to like the results of this meeting."

Wiggler let out a squeak but Ethan just shot a glare at him. "Hey, keep it down."

"Huh…I swore I heard that stupid balloon. No one could ever forget it."

Wiggler looked at him with a worried look but he winked at him. "No, I think we can use this to our advantage to be honest. I didn't want to confront them yet but if we can get them separated, I really like our chances."

Wiggler nodded and he stepped out from behind the nearby building. Sklya noticed him first and smiled. "Oh Ethan! So you really are okay! We were all worried about—"

She didn't get to finish as Wiggler let out with one of his glass shattering tunes. The three stumbled back covering their ears and it was Iris who recovered first. "Hey, what was that for—"

She didn't get to finish as Wiggler unleashed a hyper beam in her direction but she jumped out of the way before he could hit her. "How about you shut up you little brat."

"Brat? Who's the little brat? Why are you attacking us?"

He smiled. "You're gonna have to catch me before I fill you in. Or are you some sort of chicken who's scared of a guy who didn't even become the Champion of his home region?"

"W-what?"

"Ethan, what is going—"

"I was talking to the brat Champion you stupid red headed bimbo but if you want me to take you down first, I'm cool with that!"

"W-what is going on? Why are you acting like this?" Iris yelled. Cilan folded his arms.

"So is this what Giovanni wanted to talk to you about?"

"What, join Team Rocket? Why would you even join them?" Iris yelled. Ethan rolled his eyes and looked down at Wiggler.

"Could you blow them away? We're just wasting time with these posers."

Wiggler let out a squeak and began to suck in a bunch of air, causing him to grow in size. He kept growing and growing until he was at least 20 feet tall. He suddenly let out all that air out, blowing it all toward the three, blowing them away until he had blown out all the extra air and had returned to his regular shape. "Good job. Now that they've been separated, how about we track them down and nab their Pokemon!"

They ran into Skyla first, who had been blown away pretty far, a few blocks even. She was just beginning to recover when they showed up. "Ethan, what is going on?"

"What do you think is going on? I'm part of Team Rocket. You don't get to join Team Rocket by rescuing Meowths from trees or helping old grannies cross the street! You get it by stealing Pokemon."

"Steal? You aren't gonna still them!"

"Oh yea?"

"Yea, I'm gonna defeat you and make you come to your senses!" She said as she held out a Pokeball. Before she could summon it, Pitch flew out of nowhere and swiped the ball from her hands. "Hey!"

Pitch flew over to him and deposited the Pokeball in his outstretched hands. "That's one."

"How can you? Don't you know what will happen if you turn our Pokemon over to Giovanni?"

He yawned and summoned Chase. "Yes, he'll be able to roll over this stupid region and take over. You think I'm dumb or something?" He asked as Chase caused him to vanish. Her eyes grew wide and she looked around.

"Hey, where did you go? Why are you trying to hide from me?"

He walked up from behind and easily snatched away the remaining Pokeballs attached to her belt. She gasped and spun around but by then, he had walked back to his original spot. He snapped his fingers and Chase caused him to reappear, while catching her attention. "You really shouldn't be so careless Skyla. I just took them from right under your nose."

She glared at him. "What's gotten into you? You've never been this mean before!"

He placed them in a bag. "You know Skyla, I always took you to be pretty intelligent but I guess I was wrong. You really are nothing more than a red headed bimbo. Maybe you should get out of the gym business and take your talents elsewhere."

"My-my…talents?"

"Yea, the two of them in fact. I think we're done here, right Wiggler?"

Wiggler let out a calm and soothing tune, causing her to slump to the ground, asleep like a baby. He pat her on the head and looked up, in time to see Iris appear. "Hey!"

He turned and took off down the other way but he could hear Iris running after him. He looked up ahead and Pitch, who looked down at him. Ethan winked at him and the bird flew high into the sky while he stopped running and turned around. Iris came to a screeching halt and pointed a finger in his direction. "Well if it isn't the brat."

"I'm not a brat! You're the brat, for joining Team Rocket!"

"I think I'll be able to accomplish a lot more by working with them than I ever did with you guys."

She stomped her foot. "W-what? Are you crazy? How can you say that? They've bad guys anyway! They only exist to get defeated! Is that what you want to be, a loser?"

He chuckled. "They lose because they were fighting against me. Now I'm with them so I think their chances of winning have gone up."

She took out a couple of Pokeballs. "Not if I have anything to say about it. You're gonna find out why I'm the Champion!"

"If you're the Champion, the competition in Unova must be awful. You wouldn't sniff the Elite Four in Johto."

Iris tossed the Pokeball forward but Pitch snatched it out of the air before she could summon whatever she was about to summon. He dropped it in Ethan's hand, who only directed Wiggler to aim for her other hand. She cried out as she dropped the Pokeball before his attack could reach her. She wagged her finger at him.

"You think I'm finished? I still have one more Pokemon to go!" She said as she pulled a Pokeball out of her hair."

"Man I hoped you washed that."

"My hair is clean!"

"Yea that's what they all say. And then when they go to cut their Afros, you find all sorts of stuff, dollar bills, combs, maps, bugs—"

"What do you know?"

He glanced over at Wiggler who had begun to inch his way around and decided to keep it up. "All I know is that you're too busy worrying about being the Champion that I doubt you have much time for anything else."

"W-what?"

"I mean it's obvious that you really see you don't belong there. You're like all those other dragon trainers; they just use those Pokemon because they're rare and strong against so many other Pokemon. You only care about winning and your soul would be crushed if you lost."

Her eyes grew wide and even a bit watery. "What? You're stupid, what are you even talking about? You're just making stuff up! I'm not all about winning—"

"Then why do you always remind people that you're the Champion? Sounds like you're a bit insecure to me. I've known plenty of Champions but they hardly refer to themselves as one except for you. You? You're nothing more than a spoiled brat who's had everything handed to her on a silver platter. You don't know about hardship or trials because everything has come easy to you. Yet you act like you worked hard or have accomplished something in life. You know what Iris, you haven't."

"I-I—y-you're stupid! Why are you being so mean to me?"

He laughed as Wiggler leapt from behind and snatched her last Pokeball away before bouncing over to him. He took it and pat him on the head. "Because you deserve it. Go cry in a corner for all I ca—" he said before he suddenly caught a vine in mid air. Luckily Pitch had flashed him a warning or else he'd be hurting for sure. "So the queer finally made his…or her appearance. Or should I just refer to you as it?"

"You become pretty scary when you go evil."

Ethan suddenly yanked on the vine, pulling in whatever Pokemon Cilan had used to attack him. When he caught it, he saw that it was some hippie looking green chimp. "What do you call this thing?"

"Pansage."

"Hippie Chimp," Ethan said. Pitch flew down and snatched the Pokeball he had used to summon Pansage and summoned him back before flipping it to him. Ethan caught it and smiled. "So, got any more Pokemon on you? Elesa's outfit doesn't really offer you anywhere to store them."

He held up his hands. "Care to search me?"

Ethan folded his arms. "I'll just have Wiggler do it for me."

"What are you, scared?"

Ethan shrugged without looking at him. "Poor Iris doesn't need to be exposed to your nakedness."

"You made her cry!"

He chuckled. "Good, she needed it."

"Skyla looks like she's been kicked in the gut!"

"What a shame."

"Why are you acting like this? I understand maybe being forced into joining but you're making it seem like you enjoy it!"

He laughed. "You think I'm being forced? I offered to join them! I wasn't forced into anything so why shouldn't I enjoy myself! I got tired of teaming up with you guys, nothing was ever done. We would get something accomplished and then Team Rocket would just roll over and undo all of our hard work. If it were just me, Team Rocket would be done with!"

"So why don't you do it by yourself?"

"I'm impatient. Besides, I got to saw what they had to offer and I liked it. At least I can get some respect this way! No one respects me after all I've done before!"

"P-People respect you!"

He laughed. "Whatever man. Or girl," he said as Wiggler returned to him. "Well Wiggler says you're clean so we're out of here! Maybe get some better Pokemon next time! Some that doesn't suck as much!"

They left Cilan and Iris and walked into an open intersection while he chuckled. "Man I tell you, this Team Rocket stuff is a lot easier than I thought! It's like taking candy from a baby!"

Wiggler out a squeak and he nodded. "Yea, we haven't had to do a single Pokemon battle and yet we've already defeated two gym leaders and the Champion, in record time. Let's see what they think about that!"

"E-Ethan?"

He turned to see Marlon, Homika and Jasmine walk down a different sidewalk, just as Skyla ran in from another way. "Hey, stop him! He just stole all our Pokemon!"

"I take offense to that one bimbo. Stealing would imply I actually tried. We just took them, get it right," he said with a smug look on his face.

"What the f***? What's gotten into you Ethan?"

"Nothing…and everything."

"What is that supposed to mean? What are you even talking about? Why aren't you making any sense?"

He shrugged. "Frankly my dear, I don't give a d***. Well actually I do because all three of you have something I want…Pokemon!"

He suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it in Homika's direction. Her eyes grew wide as he pulled the trigger, showering her with a large spray of sparkle dust. She realized what he had done and her face turned bright red. "Are you trying to make a fool of me?"

"You do that by yourself," he said as he tossed the toy guy aside. He took out a Pokeball and summoned Bolt, causing her to jump back and scream. "Itsy bitsy little spider, gave the rocker a scare."

"How about you get that thing away from me?"

He held out his hand. "Pokemon first, and then we can talk. Maybe, if I'm feeling generous. So far, I haven't today."

Homika backed away but Bolt only crawled forward. She didn't look like she was about to hand them over and he sighed. "Ethan…what's gotten into you?"

"Pure evil. And it sure is a lot more fun than being a goody two shoes; at least you get stuff done. And you don't have to spend time with a moody rocker with a foul mouth and an even worse attitude!"

"H-huh? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying shut up and hand me over the Pokemon!"

Bolt shot some electrical silk at her leg, causing it to go numb and for her to fall to the ground. Before either Marlon or Jasmine could step in, Pitch zipped down between her and the others, mainly as a threat. "Ethan, how about you explain yourself?"

"Explain myself? I already did, multiple times. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. You were able to clear out an entire city of Team Rocket grunts and yet one new guy is able to swipe all your Pokemon with ease!"

He walked over to Homika and knelt down next to her as he searched for her Pokeballs. "This is some sort of trick, right? You're only working with them because they forced you too, right? Please tell me—"

"I asked to join, get it right."

"W-what? How could you?"

He pet her on the head as he got to his feet and put her Pokemon in his bag. "Because I can. Time for you to get yourself a new boyfriend to abuse."

He walked away and glanced at Wiggler. "Ethan…I hate you. I wish I had never met you."

"Yea, whatever. Wiggler, just use Hype Beam on her. I'm sick of seeing her ugly face," he said.

"Ethan, no!"

Wiggler let out a short cry before unleashing a beam of light, which hit her square in the face and caused her to slump over. Jasmine gasped while he chuckled, which soon turned into full-blown laughter. "Oh quiet. I'm not even finished yet—"

Before he could answer, his phone rang. He grumbled as he answered it. "Hello?"

"How are things going? Have you captured some of their Pokemon—"

"Too easy. I only have Marlon and Jasmine left. I've already taken care of everyone else."

"So fast?"

"Well unlike your other execs, I don't bother with battles. I just take their Pokemon away and am done with it. Makes things faster and more efficient, don't you think?"

"I'm pleased. Once you are finished, meet me at the Pokemon League. We can talk further there."

"Of course sir," he said before Giovanni hung up. He put his phone away and smiled. "Now…back to you two—"

"If you want my Pokemon that badly, you can have them." Marlon said as he flung them at Ethan, who caught them in his open bag. "I don't know what's gotten into you but—"

"But nothing. Glad you were so generous. Now to find Jasmine and I can be on my way!"

They hurried away while Wiggler squeaked at him. "Yea, yea. I know I'm not real popular right now. They'll live. Maybe if we're lucky, they'll drag out some more Pokemon and then we can have some real fun! I've been shocked at how easy it is! I really thought they were gonna make me work!"

He came to a stop in front of the Pokemon Center and frowned. "Where is Jasmine? She has to be around here somewhere. I wish Giovanni hadn't called, she got away while I was distracted!"

He turned and began to walk down a nearby alley. He strode past the back door of a restaurant but just as he did, he stopped and walked back over to the door before yanking it open. Jasmine tumbled out and he grasped her by the wrist. "Ethan!"

"Nice try. You learned that little trick from me. Maybe you should try it on someone else!"

He let her go and she stumbled back. She grabbed her wrist. "E-Ethan…why are you doing this?"

"Less talking and more handing over of the Pokemon."

"No, we need to talk! What have you done? You've stolen everyone's Pokemon, alienated almost everyone in a matter of minutes and you even tried to seriously harm Homika!"

"Glad you noticed."

"Ethan, what's gotten into you? Why are you doing this? Please tell me!"

"I don't owe you a thing! The only thing you owe me is your Pokemon. Now hand them over," he said as he outstretched his hand. She looked down at it.

"And what if I don't? Are you going to try and harm me like you did to Homika?"

"I was actually merciful to Homika. I'll save my worst for you. Perhaps turning you in to Team Rocket for starters—"

"Ethan, no! You wouldn't do that!"

"Wouldn't I? It looks I'll be going to, unless you hand over your Pokemon. Or are you willing to fight me? A fight might be fun, the others rolled over like dead fish in a store. I might get rusty!"

She shook her head. "I can't fight you."

"Oh?"

She suddenly held out her hands, pressed together at her wrists as if she were handcuffed. "If you're really joined Team Rocket and left us, I won't fight you. I can't. Something tells me that this is all for show, you've been forced into this—"

"Sorry but I asked to join. I'm tired of working with you guys and not getting anything done. Especially with you. You know what I really think about you?"

She began to back away. "Ethan…"

"I think you're a spineless, meek little girl who lacks a heart for anything. You take care of that weak and sickly Ampharos out of nothing more than routine. You don't know how to care for anything because you haven't in your entire life. You even use steel Pokemon to make up for the total lack of spine you have."

Her eyes grew wide and she hung her head as a tear ran down her cheek. "You don't…mean that, do you?"

"I said it, didn't I?"

"E-Ethan—"

"And because you're so emotionally weak, you'll ask to come with me because the idea that someone you believed in, someone that you loved…could be turned this way…it crushes your entire world, doesn't it?"

"Y-you're right. I don't know what to do now…if this is what you have to do, then just kill me now."

"Ah…" He said, not able to think of anything else to say. Was she really serious? He had never seen her this defeated before, never in his life and it chilled him. He and Wiggler exchanged a look. Had he over exaggerated his betrayal just a tad much? "Well…"

She looked at him with a slight smile. "You can't…can you?"

He laughed. "You think I'm some sort of psycho? What would I gain from killing someone who could be a useful ally to Team Rocket?"

"You will really turn me in?"

He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her close. "You bet Toots."

"Don't you dare call me that," she said, looking as if she would spit in his face. It only made him feel even better, the more she hated him, the better.

"I'll call you whatever I like. Now come on, I'm sick of wasting time here with you losers!"

Along the way to the Pokemon League, they stopped by Mistralton City. They looked to be progressing nicely after the attack by Team Rocket but they still had awhile to go. "Ethan…what are we doing here?"

"I think I have an idea."

"No, stop. This is going too far, what are you trying to accomplish?" She asked as she pulled at his sleeve. He pulled away from her.

"I'm with Team Rocket, what do you expect? For me to help the rebuilding effort?"

"No, please stop this! You don't have to do this!"

He smiled at her. "I can and I will. What are you going to do about it? Are you gonna stop me? You don't have it in you to do it!"

"I can stop you—"

"Too bad I already stole your Pokemon from you," he said. She gasped and began to search herself before coming to the harsh realization. "Told you. I'm a lot faster than you are," he said as he tapped the side of his head.

His phone rang and he answered it. "Hello?"

"This is Archer, have you got what we wanted?"

"I am actually in Mistralton City. I already have all the Pokeballs you wanted. It was a cinch! I was just about to stir up a little trouble here in Mistralton."

"Mistralton? Hmm…just what kind of trouble?"

"Trouble. Also see if I can track down any pesky trainers that could hinder Giovanni's plans and take care of them."

"I appreciate your eagerness but forget that. Just get back here with those Pokemon and then we'll decide what we want you to do next."

"Of course, whatever you say."

"Very well then."

He hung up and shrugged. "Guess what Toots, it's your lucky day! They want me back at the League so we get to skip out on troublemaking today."

"Stop calling me that. Ethan, what's happened to you? It's like you've become a totally different person!"

He pulled her along. "We can talk and walk. Actually I don't have time for your talking to be honest with you."

"What's…gotten into you?"

"What is it, talk like a parrot day? I swear I keep hearing that same question over and over again!"

"You're not listening to me!"

"Good."

She suddenly got free of his grasp and stepped in his path. He stopped walking and she folded her arms, stern look on her face. "They threatened to harm us…. you're friends and family, right?"

"Wrong. I offered to join them. They didn't have to threaten me at all!"

"You're lying."

He leaned forward and grinned. "Oh you can tell? Face it, the guy you thought you knew, turned out to be someone totally different!"

"You're still the same person!"

He laughed and began to walk past her. "You don't know what you're talking about. I took you to be smarter than that!"

She grabbed him by the arm but he twisted away. He returned the favor and twisted her arm around her back causing her to cry out in pain. "Ethan…" she said before swinging her foot back in an attempt to kick him but he just moved his leg out of the way. "So…so this is what's its come to. You're willing to hurt me."

He pushed her away. "Go away. I didn't tell them I have a prisoner so you're free to go. You're just wasting my time with your constant whining and begging."

She stumbled backwards, before rubbing her wrist. "You—"

"I hate you. I never liked you—"

"That's not true."

He chuckled. "You just keep telling yourself that you insecure, spineless, insignificant—heh, why waste my time on you? You aren't worth my time," he said with a sneer as he walked by her.

He didn't get very far before she caught up to him again. "You again? Can't you take a hint already?"

"They have that threat over your head."

"No."

"That if you don't do as they say or let us interfere in their plans, that they'll harm your loved ones."

"Sorry but no."

"And you don't want to drag any of us into it."

"Now you're just making stuff up. You really are pathetic, how many times do I have to insult you to get you to see the light?"

She grabbed him by the arm and made him face her. "Hit me."

"Hit…you?"

She pointed at her jaw. "Punch me right across my face. I don't think you can harm me. If you're willing to do that, then I'll believe what you say."

He and Wiggler exchanged a look. "I'll do whatever I have to do to make you hate me."

"You'll—" she began to say before he stepped forward and took a swing. He stopped it midway and turned away from her.

"Didn't I just tell you to go away?"

"E-Ethan…"

"You know what my plan is Jasmine? I'm gonna work my way up the ladder and take over Team Rocket. Then and only then can I get to his super powerful dragon and deal with it. He's no longer interested in waiting for me to get strong enough, now he wants to just get things over with."

"Oh."

"So you see what's gonna happen right? I'm going to have to become more hated, more of a villain. That way my former friends will grow to hate me and they won't try to help me or anything."

"Ethan…"

"That's why I want you to leave me alone. We have this. We'll take them out from the inside and prevent Giovanni's plan from succeeding. Just leave it to us!"

"By yourself? By yourself?"

She strode forward and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him off the ground by an inch or two and slamming him into the side of an abandoned building. He looked over at Wiggler but before Wiggler could help, Jasmine kicked him away. "Jasmine, I think—"

"No, you listen! Do you think you got anywhere in life by doing things by yourself? Do you?"

"Ahh…well—"

"You wouldn't have become a trainer with Crystal's help. You would have never even left the safety of New Bark if it weren't for her! Did you help defeat Team Rocket by yourself in Mahogany? Did you?"

"W-well no. I was helping Lance and—"

"Go away Wiggler!" She yelled, causing the puffball to back away, something he had never seen before. "That's right. And what about Goldenrod? Did you do that all by yourself? Huh, did you?"

"Well—"

"No! Again you had Crystal helping you out and eventually even Whitney lent a hand. You see Ethan, anytime you try to do things by yourself; you screw up or come short. Yet when you work with people, you can do amazing things. Tell me, how well did you do in the Pokemon League Championship?"

He glared at her and she smiled. "What? Are you saying me and my team—"

"And what about now? You think your little act did any good? If anything, it'll only motivate Homika and the others to gather together and be even more dedicated to stopping Team Rocket. And your little plan will shatter—"

"That's why I have no choice but to become the villain. If I can break their spirits…somehow—"

"Ethan, by the time you've broken everyone's spirits, how do you know you'll even be the same person you claim to be? You're approaching a dangerous slope and you could soon end up like all the rest of Team Rocket."

"That's not true!"

"Is it?"

"S-so what are you telling me to do? To just give up? I can't! If I don't…everyone I care for will be dead"

"No…you can't just give up. We'll figure something out."

"We?" He asked as she release her grip and allowing him to set his feet on the ground.

"Yes…we. You think I'm just gonna let you do this alone?"

"Ahhh well—" he said as she reached up and put her hand on his cheek. "I just don't want you to get dragged into this. That's why—"

"Ethan, I don't care. We'll get through this; we'll figure something out. I'm not going to let you go off and self-destruct like this! I—" she stopped herself and suddenly turned away. He and Wiggler exchanged confused looks.

"W-w-well…I guess I'll let you tag along! Just think of this as my act of mercy!" He said as he winked at Wiggler, who seemed a bit amused. She didn't answer him at first and he folded his arms. "Umm…something bugging you?"

She shook her head. "I-I'm going to stop lying to myself."

"You aren't making any sense."

"How can I make sense when I know I'm crazy?"

He and Wiggler could only look at each other confused. "Well okay…while you talk to yourself…well you can talk to yourself while we walk. We still have a while before we make it to the Pokemon League. I don't want to make it seem like I'm trying to keep them waiting," he said with a chuckle. "Besides, I think we can come up with a way for me to be playful while still—"

"Ethan…" she said as she turned and walked toward him. He backed away and found himself back against the wall of the building. She intertwined her fingers with his and pressed herself against him. He reached behind, freeing his fingers and hugged her. "I…"

"Thanks for sticking by me and well knocking some sense into me. I guess even I need it from time to time!"

She suddenly pressed against him more and locked lips with him. He didn't have time to think or react. It felt as if on one hand, she had sucked the life out of him and yet it was one of the best feelings he had. She pulled away and he began to slump to the ground. Actually he fell straight on his butt, which kind of knocked some sense into him. Wiggler squeaked in amusement and he shot him a dazed glare. She knelt down next to him and grasped him by the collar. Was it time for round two? Or would he even be able to survive round two? Certainly a way to go out. "Ethan, I love you and I don't care what happens to you but I'll always care about you."

"Even if I became as bad as Giovanni?"

"You won't become as bad as Giovanni because I love you too much to let that happen. I won't allow it. If you became like him, it's because I wasn't around to stop it."

"Ahh well…but you can't—"

She pulled his face close to his. "I can't what? Join you in Team Rocket?"

He nodded. "I mean…you're a gym leader. You can't be a part of a criminal organization…they'll revoke your status as a gym leader!"

She touched her nose with his and giggled. "You think I'm defined by my status as a gym leader. Do you recognize me by the fact I'm a gym leader or that I'm me?"

"I…ah…"

"There's more to me than just being a gym leader," she said. She pulled back and tugged on the red ribbon of her dress. She untied it and in the process, he saw what she was doing as she took off a small metal clip that had been hidden by the folds. She held it out to him and he looked down at it, "This is the badge certifying me as a gym leader."

"Yea but—" He began to say before she got to her feet and flung it off in a random direction. "Jasmine but you love being a gym leader! I can't let you—"

She knelt in front of him and smiled. "I didn't let you do anything. I made my own decision. You're stuck with me until the end. No not the end…for good. What do you have to say about that?"

"I…ahh…well…" he said before noticing part of her dress slumping a bit down her shoulder. He reached over and straightened it up. "I guess I don't have anything to say."

They didn't get too far the rest of that day and found themselves sitting on the edge of a wooden pier at the edge of a large lake, bordered by a bunch of tall grasses. "Drat, we didn't make much headway."

"You didn't think about stealing a ride to the Pokemon League?"

"Steal?" He said as Wiggler let out a squeak, shocked as well at her suggestion. Jasmine chuckled.

"Ethan, we're villains now. You don't become a part of Team Rocket by rescuing Shinx from trees or helping little old grannies across the street! You become a part of Team Rocket by…how did it go again?"

"I don't think there was a second part."

She nodded. "Yes, I think you're right. So…how will we go about getting to the top of Team Rocket?"

He tapped his foot against the post. "Well…I guess we'll have to do everything they ask of us. And nothing more."

"I really don't think you have to kick Giovanni out to get close to that Pokemon, I'm sure there's another way. Perhaps if you are able to please him on a mission, you could meet with him in person."

"Well…yea. That might happen. Hopefully exceeding his expectations doesn't mean something terrible."

"Weren't you listening to me before? I'm not gonna let you go that way. We'll find a way or…"

"Then—"

"If you're telling me to abandon you at that point, I won't. That's the last thing you need. We'll get through this, okay?"

He nodded and she pat him on the shoulder. "Yea."

"Good. Now come on, don't we still have a long road ahead of us? You better get a good night's rest!"

He snorted. "Who are you, my mom?"

"Don't make me kick you."

He laughed as he grabbed a rock and flicked it across the water. Wiggler picked up one himself but ended up only flinging it into the water, causing a splash. He laughed as Wiggler looked annoyed and searched for another rock. He heard footsteps approach and prepared himself for that kick. "Hey, that dumb ol' cabin has one bed! I'm gonna be sleeping on the floor anyway so I'll just stay out here a bit longer."

"Huh, I'm not heartless! I'll make sure you have some warm and soft bedding

Wiggler let out a squeak and he laughed. "With what? You don't have a Fire Pokemon."

She reached down and put her hand on his hat, messing up his hair as she did. He swatted at her and she moved away. "Stop being so silly Ethan."


	18. Chapter 17: Roxie, leader of Misfits?

Homika looked up at the other gym leaders and Iris and was surprised by how many stunned or devastated faces she could see. Didn't they see the same thing as she did? Iris looked like she was on the verge of tears, Skyla looked like a lost puppy, Marlon looked deep in thought and Cilan…who knew what the f*** he was thinking? She jumped to her feet and stomped her foot on the ground. "What's wrong with all of you? Are you guys just gonna sit around feeling sorry for yourselves?"

"But Homika—"

"But nothing!"

"Homika, how can you be like this? Your own boyfriend attacked you—"

"That's right, he hit me with Hyper Beam. So why the f*** am I still standing? Do I look like someone who could take a Hyper Beam to the face and laugh it off? Well other than when I'm an epic bender," she asked. None of them answered or perhaps they thought it was rhetorical. "Don't you guys see? C'mon Red, you're a smart girl!"

She looked up at her and began to answer before her eyes lit up. "Hey…does it mean what I think it means?"

"If what you think it means is that he really didn't mean any of that stuff, then yes!"

"A-all of it?" Iris asked in a meek voice.

"Well I don't know about you but I know for the rest of us, it rings true. Come on you guys, is Ethan really that cruel of a person? Huh, really? Of course not!"

"Then why did he do it?" Marlon asked. Homika put her hands on her hips.

"Well duh, isn't it obvious? Well I guess not since you guys are asking me but I bet that he's being forced to work for them against his will and he didn't want us to come and rescue him so he went full on jerk!"

Skyla jumped to her feet and laughed. "You know, you're right! The Ethan I know is a kind and caring guy. He never meant any of that."

"Even me?"

"Iris, didn't you hear me earlier? I think he meant what he said to you but I don't think he would be near as harsh about it."

Iris hung her head. "R-r-really?"

"Well of course. You really are a brat. I think he said it so you could…I don't know…maybe think about what he said and make some changes in your life. How the hell am I supposed to know? I don't do motivational speeches!"

Marlon chuckled. "So he doesn't want us to help him."

"No. F*** no. We'll just have to do without him."

"Do what?" Iris asked. Homika tapped her head.

"Uh…umm…think Roxie…think—"

"Roxie?" They all said in unison. Homika turned red.

"Hey, none of you f***ers heard that, okay? Right? Did any of you hear the name I used?" She asked and they all shook their head. She nodded and folded her arms. "Man, I suck at this thinking stuff—"

"Excuse me Homika but I have a suggestion," Cilan said. She looked over at him and leveled her eyes at him.

"First I got a suggestion, change."

"Oh, of course."

It only took him a few minutes to change back into his regular butler outfit. He smiled as he did and she could only roll her eyes. "Now you were saying?"

"Well you know how I was dressed up as Elesa? Well I remember she had gone to the Giant Chasm to rescue the other gym leaders. It's been some time so perhaps we should go check on her?"

"But…we don't have any Pokemon," Iris said.

Cilan frowned. "Oh yea, that would be an issue. It's not like we can just call Ethan up and beg him to give us some Pokemon."

"Don't you have any more Pokeballs in your hair?" Homika asked. Iris shook her head before looking down at the ground. She sighed.

"Fine fine, you guys really need to hide Pokeballs on you so you don't run into this problem," she said as she reached into her dress and pulled a Pokeball out. Cilan chuckled.

"And I was wondering why you had some sudden growth in—"

Before he could even finish the sentence, she flung the Pokeball, nailing him right between the eyes. It bounced back over to her and she grabbed in midair. "If you finish that sentence, you are a dead man. They won't find your body."

"Ahh understood."

Homika looked over at Skyla. "So do you got a plane nearby or are we gonna have to walk?"

She flashed her a thumbs up. "Stellar! Leave it to me, this flying red head is on the job!"

Thanks to her top-flight skills or perhaps her ability to scare the living crap out of them, they soon landed near the large crater that helped give the area its name. It's named always amused her, the crater wasn't all that large, maybe the size of a small car. Whoever named it had to have been pretty sarcastic. Or an idiot. "Well here we are. The chasm is to the west of us!"

Homika took out her Pokeball, summoning Scolipede. "All right, we're depending on you to take care of any Pokemon out there."

It let out a cry and began to move forward. "So…what are we gonna do without any Pokemon?"

"Iris…you're the Champion, right?"

"Ahh yes but—"

"But? But? How long do you plan to feel sorry for yourself Iris? You are the f***ing Champion! You caught your very first Pokemon without even a Pokemon of your own! I mean go****, stop moping about. I'm sure Ethan meant to motivate you, not for you to become a f***ing emo about it! F***, now you got me thinking about that motherf*****!"

"I-I-I'm sorry."

"Opposing Team Rocket without our own Pokemon will make things a bit tough but I know I should be able to finagle a few new water Pokemon into my team," Marlon said.

Skyla giggled. "Well me and the birds speak a common language—"

"Yea, gibberish."

"Honestly I think once we get some replacement Pokemon and team up with the other gym leaders and the Elite Four, I like our chances. The only thing I'm worried about is Giovanni and Ethan," Cilan said. He chuckled. "Imagine, we have to be worried about a guy who was on our side—"

"He's still on our side. Somehow…I think. I hope so," she said, though she wondered why she felt that way. He would never become as bad as Giovanni, right? She shook her head. "Yea, that f***er is still on our side, even if he did some jerkish things."

"Awww isn't it sweet how Homika defends her lovely boyfriend?"

She made a fist. "Cilan, do you want me to pound the ever living s*** out of you? I'm gonna kick you're a** so hard, you're gonna forget who you are!"

"C-could you stop cursing so much? My ears are ringing," Iris asked. Homika laughed.

"Too bad. I'm not all cuddly and sweet and warm like Ethan. I'm a brutally honest, foul mouth, dirty minded and in your face b****!"

Cilan chuckled. "Until Ethan returns, then you'll become a much more agreeable person."

Thanks to Scolipede strength, they were able to make it through without much trouble. True to form, the place was crawling with Absol but thanks to being part bug, he made short work of them. By the time they reached the crater, they found Elesa standing by it in her large fur coat, arms folded and looking perplexed. Cilan walked forward and waved to her. "Hey Elesa! We decided to come out and lend a hand!"

"Hey, quiet! Are you trying to attract attention?"

Elesa looked over at them and gave a faint smile. "Welcome. I didn't expect you guys to come out here."

Homika sighed. "It was Cilan's crack idea. A pretty f***ing reckless one considering we don't have many Pokemon?"

"Hmm, what happened there?"

Marlon cleared his throat. "Well it looks like Ethan and Jasmine have joined Team Rocket. And Ethan's first move was to steal all our Pokemon."

She raised an eyebrow. "They did? I don't get it."

"He's being forced to do it. That's all I can think of," Homika said. "The problem is we can't really oppose Team Rocket without any pocket killers so we'll need all the help we can get."

Elesa smiled. "That sounds like a plan."

"Thankfully the Elite Four still has their Pokemon but I wouldn't be surprised if that changes," Marlon said. They all looked over at him and he shrugged.

"What the f***? Are you trying to be a Debbie downer?"

"Well what do you think Homika?"

"Ahhh…well…I…f***," she said as she folded her arms. She thought over what he said and tried to figure out what he was getting at. She tapped her foot. "Ugh…do you mean now that they have Ethan on their side, they'll want to stomp out any threats?"

"Yep. Before that, he was their biggest threat, the one guy they knew who could throw a wrench into their plans but now they've got him on their side. You can bet they'll step up their efforts and crush any signs of resistance here. And the Elite Four is probably the biggest now."

"Then it's good you all came here. I've been having a terrible time trying to find the other gym leaders."

Homika grumbled. "You've been out here all this time and you still can't find them?"

She shook her head. "No."

Cilan frowned. "Maybe we were mistaken?"

"Maybe you weren't? Don't you guys remember a dirty trick Ethan likes to use?"

They all looked at her confused and she sighed. "Umm explain?"

"He has that stupid ghost candle. He often used it to turn invisible and sneak around. Couldn't they have done the same thing here?"

"An entire building?"

"Didn't you just say yourself you've searched all over? Like all over?"

Elesa shrugged. "But didn't you guys just confirm that Ethan stole all your Pokemon? If there are ghost Pokemon hiding the building from us, how do we get them to stop?"

Homika turned to Scolipede. "Hey, go see if you can fetch us an Absol! They really don't like bugs!"

The large centipede wandered off and Elesa sighed. "You're just gonna send him off like that? Shouldn't you as a trainer be out there, directing him?"

"Does Ethan?"

"He seems like a special case to be honest. I don't many other trainers who can get away with that. He just has a special…connection with Pokemon at times."

Homika shrugged. "He's just a regular guy. If he can do it, so can I!"

She brushed aside her hair. "So can we trust him to do the right thing? I mean trying to become the villain and all."

"Of course!"

"You sure? I mean if he's with Team Rocket, they're not going to be having him rescuing hurt Pokemon or helping trainers. He's gonna be stealing Pokemon, harming others and being up front about all of it."

"What? Are you trying to make me depressed or something? F***, he's not going to go bad. He knows what he's doing. Jasmine is there to keep him honest anyway. So stop worrying about stupid f****** things that we have no control over and worry about our d*** f****** selves. F***!" She yelled. She folded her arms and grumbled.

Cilan chuckled and held out a hand. "And that's our leader!"

"Not leader. HBIC and get it right?"

Elesa raised an eyebrow. "HBIC?"

"Head b****in charge!"

Scolipede returned a few minutes later, with an Absol in tow. Homika grinned and patted him on the back. "Yes, good job Scolli! Exactly what we needed! So could you explain to him what we need?"

As he did, she leaned against him and folded her arms. "So here's the other major question…what to we do if the person or persons guarding the gym leaders has Pokemon that are strong against Scollipede or Electric?" Cilan asked.

"Is that a serious f****** question? Do we really have many other choices? Ethan stole all our Pokemon."

"And if they don't have their Pokemon on them? I mean there's a good chance Team Rocket took their Pokemon away after they captured them."

She began to respond but heard Scolipede cry out to her. She turned to him and frowned. "Huh, what do you mean he doesn't detect any ghosts around here? How else could they be hiding them?"

"They aren't hiding them because the gym leaders aren't even here. We've moved them somewhere else. We just didn't feel like cluing you guys in so you could fall into our trap."

Homika looked around. "What? Jasmine? What the f*** are you talking about? Where are you?"

She got her answer as the petite gym leader magically appeared in the middle of the group as Chase floated around her. She was dressed in a female Team Rocket outfit and Homika had never felt more disgusted in her life. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry for f****** what? I hope you're gonna explain yourself! I hope you're keeping Ethan in line!"

Jasmine sighed. "That's none of your business."

"How about I make it my f****** business?"

Jasmine shook her head. "I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to take your Pokemon away. Ethan figured, correctly it seems that you might have some more."

"Did he tip off Team Rocket about Elesa being out here?"

Jasmine blushed and nodded. "H-h-he did. He told them she had come out here to try and rescue the other gym leaders. They didn't ask either-"

She grabbed Jasmine by the collar. "What do you mean he just f****** told them? They didn't even have to ask? He just casually mentioned it to them?"

"Y-y-yes—"

"What the f*** is he thinking?"

"He's trying to earn their trust! If he can do that, perhaps they won't have to threaten his family or friends with harm."

She let her go. "And just how far is he willing to go to earn their f****** trust? How low will he stoop?"

"Ahh…I…"

"You better f****** answer me Jasmine! I trusted you to keep him in line!"

She sighed. "I…"

"You aren't, are you? You've decided to go all in, haven't you? If he takes that f****** leap off the cliff, you're going with him…aren't you?"

She moved toward her and Jasmine suddenly shoved her away. Homika stumbled back but Skyla stopped her from falling. "Ethan isn't in Team Rocket because he wants to be. He has to be in Team Rocket…and if he has to alienate everyone around him to save them, so be it, I'm with him all the way! And I don't have a choice either—"

"Yea you do! You can stop him from going over the edge! You think he's a tough son of a b**** now? Watch what happens when he's taken a turn for the worse!"

Jasmine looked up at her with a glare and snapped her fingers. Suddenly her Steelix appeared behind her and let out a loud roar. "You don't understand…I don't want to do this but I have no choice!"

"You've got to f****** kidding me. They've roped you into that same deal. Either you do as you're told or he gets—"

"No, if I fail him, they'll harm his friends and family. I won't fail him, I love him too much to let him suffer like that."

Did she just say what she had heard? "What?"

"I was hoping to be there for him, to make sure he doesn't go over the edge but…it looks like for his plan to work…for him to gain their utter trust, he'll have to go over the edge."

"Is she kidding?" Marlon asked.

"No. So that's how it is? That's how it's gonna f****** be?"

"Your Pokemon please—"

"You didn't answer my question b****!"

Jasmine sighed and climbed onto Rusty. "Could you take out her little bug? It's getting on my nerves."

Homika moved out of the way as Rusty swung its large tail in Scolipede direction and before the bug could move out of the way, he was knocked aside like a toy, along with Absol. Elesa stood by in shock, unable to really help since Jasmine's Pokemon was immune to her Pokemon. "Well this took a turn for the worse."

"F***! If I only had some time, Scolipede could use his ground attacks to do some damage. He won't get that chance if he takes hits like that!"

"Actually what's gotten into Jasmine?"

"She's an idiot. Ethan's an idiot…it's like a f****** disease! Jasmine, why don't you let me talk some sense into his—"

"Sorry but I don't think he wants you around anymore…for your own sake."

"For my own…that's stupid!"

"Why do you think he's doing his best to alienate you all—"

"Somehow, I get the feeling that some of this was your suggestion. Did you just go behind my back and take back the promise you had made to me?"

"What are you talking about?" Cilan asked. Homika ignored him as she yelled some encouragement to Scolipede first.

"I mean…they both…set aside their feelings for my sake. If she f****** went back on that promise…" she said, bile rising up inside her. "Jasmine, you better answer me!"

Before Jasmine could actually answer, something fell from the sky and stomped hard on the ground, several times in fact, stirring up a bunch of dust. As the dust cleared, she saw that it was Meganium standing between her and Jasmine. "Huh? But I thought Ethan stole all your Pokemon! Did he miss one?"

She could think of one person who would have that Pokemon and she soon got her answer. "So you're the one who's trying to turn him into a villain? You're the worst! I won't stand for that at all!"

Lyra hopped down from a nearby tree and folded her arms. "Lyra…what are you—"

"The Ethan I know and love would never do that. I don't know what you've done but I'm not going to stand around and let you do it! Not by a long shot!"

"Wait…you're helping us?"

Lyra shook her head. "I'm only interested in stopping Jasmine."

"Whatever. I'm not here to talk f****** semantics."

"You really surprised me Jasmine. And here I thought I was the crazy one. Meganium, use Fissure!"

"Since when can it learn that?" Homika demanded. Lyra looked at her and winked.

"You don't know how far me and her will go for Ethan."

Homika stepped back and looked at the others. "They're both crazy, that's all I can say."

Meganium stomped its feet on the ground several times, causing a large crevasse in the ground to open up but unfortunately, it didn't come close to Rusty and veered off in a different direction, as the move was known for doing. "Oh…drat."

With the newcomer to the fight, that meant she had lost track of Scolipede. It got to its feet and she flashed him a thumbs up. While Jasmine was occupied with Lyra, Scolipede leapt into the air and slammed its feet on the ground, causing the area to shake. Rusty let out a growl as he took the attack like a champ but she knew it had some effect. Meganium jumped up and stomped on Rusty's back, causing it to cry out again. It countered with a large swat with its tail, sending Lyra's Pokemon flying. "Ahh, Meganium!"

"What are you worried about? That f****** dinosaur crushed our entire parties. I think she can handle this."

"Ahh yes! You're right. Okay Meganium, show that Steelix who's boss!"

Meganium got to its feet and let out a loud cry before it charged at Steelix. As she did, Scolipede responded with yet another ground attack, causing Steelix to reel from a ground attack. Meganium leapt up and slammed his feet on its steel body and when she noticed its loud roar, she realized Lyra had used Counter on it. Jasmine pat Rusty and began to giggle. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. This…this is just a bit easier than I thought," she said as she held out her arms and suddenly a bunch of Pokeballs appeared in her arms. Elesa began to search herself and frowned.

"My Pokemon are gone."

"Exactly."

"Hey, that's not fair! You're becoming as bad as Ethan!"

"I'm not."

"Jasmine—"

"Well I don't think I can steal Meganium or Scolipede but I did get some Pokemon. I suppose this will have to do. Chase, could you get us out of here?" She asked. She snapped her fingers and the three suddenly vanished. Homika ran forward and kicked the dirt where Jasmine and her Steelix once sat.

"F***! F***! F************************************! How did we just let her get away with that?"

Elesa took off her fur coat and shook it. "Simple really. We always take her for using nothing but Steel Pokemon so when she arrived with a ghost Pokemon in tow—"

"I mean we had her surrounded and yet she still got away! F***! A fine f****** leader I am!"

Lyra walked forward and pat Meganium. "She's gonna turn him evil. She's just gonna let him go bad…I won't let it happen!"

"I thought that was my line!"

Lyra hopped on Meganium's back. "Well let's go! We need to have a talk with Giovanni," she said as the two hurried off.

"F***** didn't even let me thank her. Ugh, I can't believe I was thinking about that."

Elesa put her coat back on. "So the gym leaders aren't here. Where would they be now?"

Homika sighed. "I don't know, they could be anywhere. I guess we will have to worry about them later."

"With no Pokemon?"

"Shut the f*** up Iris, I'm trying to think here!" She yelled. She thought about it and grumbled. "Sorry. I just need to think this out."

She sat down on a stump and crossed her arms. "I may have a suggestion."

"Well Marlon, you're always full of them so let's hear it."

He chuckled. "Well since we don't have any Pokemon now, why don't we use Scolipede to capture some new ones? That way we can start to train them a bit so we aren't totally useless."

"Well that was f****** obvious…I must be a dumb f*** to not figure that out."

Skyla leaned on her shoulders. "It's okay, you must be distracted from our encounter with Jasmine, and it's okay."

"Ugh but it's not. She went behind my back and…and…you know what? F*** that b****! You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna drag Ethan out of Team Rocket, even if I have to kick the ever loving s*** out of him!"

Skyla laughed. "Well it's better than watching him become a villain on par with Giovanni."

"And what about Team Rocket?" Elesa asked.

"After I get him out of there, there won't be a Team Rocket to kick around anymore."

After a few hours or so, everyone had at least two Pokemon to work with, even if they weren't Pokemon of their preferred type. She had captured a Delibird to go along with Scolipede while Elesa went with Lunatone and Sneasel. Cilan picked out a Mamoswine and Metagross while Skyla went with Clefairy and Dewgong. Rounding out the group, Marlon decided on a Poliwrath and Excadrill while Iris went with Boldore and Ditto. She seemed most bummed about her Pokemon and insisted on asking why she got stuck with Ditto. "Ditto is useless."

"You don't get it, do you?"

Cilan chuckled. "I'm not really getting it either."

"F***! Well Ditto is the Wiggler of the group."

Iris looked up at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Oh I see. It fills the role of the wild card, you don't know what its capable of so you have to be careful with it," Cilan said.

"If it was gonna fit that role, shouldn't it be cute?" Skyla asked.

Homika looked at her as if she had grown a third eyeball. "You think that thing is cute?"

"It has it's charms!"

"It's like a f****** rabbit that lost a battle with a buffet table. And then went out for dessert."

"If you wanted to go the obnoxiously cute route, there is Cinccinno," Elesa said.

"That thing? Well…maybe. F***! Now what do we do? We can't exactly go help the Elite Four right now…uhh…f***! Think d***** think!"

"Umm could we go check up on Mistralton City? I want to see how everyone is doing?"

"Protect the airport? Yea, f*** yea! Let's go check it out. I bet that could be one of their targets!"

Skyla let out a big sigh of relief when they touched down in Mistralton again. She stretched out her limbs and took a deep breath. "Ahh, do you smell it?"

"Smells like…gasoline…f***! I don't know how you can stand it."

"Once you're up in the sky, up with the birds, your wings outstretched and the wind underneath your sails—"

"Okay okay. Get your head out of the clouds Skyla. F*** well, I guess we might as well split up and spread out. If those f****** show up, we'll be ready for any s*** they try to pull! Skyla and Iris, you're coming with me!"

"Huh but—"

"No buts! I'm the HBIC and I decide who works with whom. Besides Marlon is the brains of this suit and we can't have the leader and the brains in the same group!"

"Ummm I thought I was the brains," Cilan said with a chuckle. "Marlon is just the one with the good head and heart."

"Huh, then who am I?" Skyla asked with a wide smile.

"I dunno, probably the ditzy team mascot. Iris is the bratty tag along kid no one likes—"

"Hey!"

"Oh f***, it looks like she still has some fire in her belly! Cilan is the brains…I think. Elesa is…I don't what the f*** you would be…there; everyone's roles are defined. I think we're good here!"

"Then we'll check out the city limits. That way if Team Rocket does show, we can warn you guys in advance."

Marlon and the others left but the three remained on the runway. "Let's go check out the control tower. We can see how things are going and we can also see if Team Rocket is out there."

"Why not just send out one of your birds…oh yea…f***!"

"It's okay—"

"No, it's not. He should have never beaten us like that before. I mean I get it that he's a great trainer and all but he just showed us up like it was nothing! And the worst thing is that he didn't have to battle us! He just took our Pokemon from behind our backs!"

"He's smart," Iris mumbled and Homika grumbled.

"It just f****** sucks! I swear…that's the last time I'll take him for granted."

"You did?"

"Well I figured between all of us, we'd be able to stop him. Instead he showed us all up…that's what scares me. If he's like that when he's just f****** around, what happens when he gets serious? Will we be so lucky next time? That's why…f************************! Seriously…f************************** Jasmine! She was the one person I figured that would be able to keep him in line and prevent him from stepping over the edge but if she isn't going to do it…then…" she said as she fell to her knees. Just the thought of him becoming something akin to Giovanni sent a chill down her spine. "I won't let it happen!"

Skyla pat her on the shoulder. "Of course it won't. We won't let it happen either. He was a pretty cool guy to be around. It just isn't the same without him around."

"Y-yea, I guess. I gave him a lot of grief and all but he was nice. I don't know why he kept ragging on me though."

"Because you're a brat. And he thought you might be a better person to be around if you stopped acting like it. I don't know why this is so hard for you to understand."

Iris sighed. "Well—"

"Enough moping around you two! You're making me feel down and I hate that! Let's go check out the air control tower!"

Homika grabbed a pair of binoculars and peered through them while Skyla conversed with some of the workers in the tower. She scanned the horizon several times over but all she could see were various bird Pokemon flying above the trees and maybe the odd plane or two. By the time she set them down, the workers had left. "Man I remember when I came here after they first attacked. I was so down and depressed about it and then Ethan got annoyed at me and got me to realize that things weren't so bleak like I thought."

"Careful, that almost sounds like you're falling for the guy!"

Skyla blushed and shook her head. "Oh no. No no no no no no no! I don't think of him like that…I was just saying—"

"It's okay, I was just messing with you. What did they say?"

Skyla sighed. "Well progress is slow. Without the tower, we've had to have Pokemon fly in the parts but that isn't easy. And some of the parts aren't even made in Unova! It's a big time pain!"

"Peachy."

She smiled. "But everyone is working so hard to get everything together again, it makes me so happy! I think we should be up and running again really soon!"

"Uhh…I think we might have problem," Iris said. Homika looked over at her and noticed Iris had grabbed the binoculars she had put down and was peering through them. "Maybe it's just me but I think I see Ethan standing out on the runway. Like in the middle—"

Homika grabbed the binoculars from Iris and peered through the, "F***, it is him! We gotta get down there, like now!"

"Something tells me that's a really bad idea."

"Shut up! I'm the boss and I say we go down there and confront him!"

"I'm sorry but I think you girls got other things to worry about."

Homika spun around in time to see Jasmine slide through an open window. Then she remembered that they had all been smashed up thanks to Team Rocket. "Jasmine, what are you—"

She got her answer as Jasmine summoned Rai, who she directed to frying all the repaired and working computers that remained in the tower. As she did, Homika could see the color draining from Skyla's face. She had never seen her look so defeated before but while Skyla was devastated, she only felt a bunch of rage rise up in her. Jasmine hopped down into the cab as she summoned Rai back. "Well that takes care of that."

"You must have missed the f****** part where I was implying that you should try to stop the guy from stepping over the cliff, not helping him along the way!"

"What choice do I have?"

"The right f****** one! Are you so afraid of losing his friendship that you won't step up and do the right thing? Are you?"

Jasmine didn't answer and looked away. "I…don't know what you're talking about. I already told you why…the only way his plan will work is if he gains their trust. And I wanted to be there to make sure he minds but now I see…"

"So is that why you went behind my back and broke the promise you two made?"

She took a menacing step toward Jasmine. Right now, the only thing she felt like doing was wrapping her hands around her scrawny little neck and shaking as much sense into her as she could. Or just choke her for going behind her back like that. "You really think his only choice is to become like this?"

"Well I—"

"Do you think we're all stupid? I bet if we put our heads together, we could come up with something but what do you do? He decides to join Team Rocket on a whim and you do nothing to stop him!"

"It wasn't on a whim—"

"Shut up! I'm gonna…gonna…" she said as she continued to walk toward Jasmine, who didn't do anything to defend herself. Soon she was right up in her face, breathing down her like a Salamence would be sizing up a dinner. She reached back and felt Skyla grab her hand. "Let me go Skyla!"

"No! Please don't do it. How do you think Ethan will react if he finds out you tried to choke her? Especially if you end up really harming her?"

"I…fine, fine. You're right. I shouldn't have lost my temper there—"

"I mean I'm not saying you're wrong for being mad. I think you have a right to but this isn't the right way to deal with it."

"I….yea," she said. Skyla let her hand go and Homika immediately grabbed Jasmine by the collar.

"Now I have a message that you need to deliver to him—"

"He's here in town…you can deliver it to him personally."

Homika nodded and grinned. "You're right. We will talk in person…but you're staying here or…hey Skyla, is there anywhere we can keep Jasmine locked up for now?"

"Locked up? You can't lock me up!"

"All's fair in war. Well I guess this really isn't a war but you get my f****** idea!"

"You don't understand—"

"No you don't! I'm tired of dealing with your bull**** already. If you aren't going to do anything to save him and you aren't interested in helping us, what good are you for?"

Jasmine reached down and Homika jumped back as she summoned Rai again. This time he hopped over to the edge of the window and unleashed a large lightning bolt off in a random direction. "Was that some kind of signal?" Skyla asked. Jasmine winked at her.

"You bet. If you don't let me go…things are gonna look real bad…real fast—"

Before she could even finish, a loud series of explosions went off below. Homika rushed to the edge of the desks and could see smoke rising from the runway. "They're attacking again? After they did a number already?" Iris asked since Skyla looked near shell shocked again. All that hard work, down the drain and just like that? She felt the bile rise up in her again and she couldn't help herself this time. She turned and slapped Jasmine across the face as hard as she could, knocking her against the desks before she slumped to the ground. She looked up at Homika with a pained expression but Homika didn't share the sentiment.

"You're becoming just like f****** Lyra except she's got a legitimate reason for her craziness. Ugh, I can't believe I said that! F***! Iris, watch these two. Me and Ethan need to talk!"

"P-P-Please do. Maybe…I was wrong."


	19. Chapter 18: HBIC vs Ethan the Spineless

She found Ethan standing in the middle of the smoking runway, admiring his work most likely. Wiggler turned and saw her approaching, letting out a squeak as he did. He turned around and smiled at her. "Hey Mika—"

"Don't hey me anything! How about you explain yourself?"

"You mean why I'm with Team Rocket?"

"Yes! And why you acted like such a jerk and why…you and Jasmine went behind my back? What the f***?"

He folded his arms. "All right, I'll explain myself. First, about Team Rocket. Giovanni gave me an offer I couldn't refuse…when he threatened to harm my family and friends; I felt I had to do something to appease him. I know that several of the executives have expressed how much they wished I would see the light and join Team Rocket so I figured if I join unconditionally, he would leave them alone. So, that's what I did."

"Unconditionally? Don't you even know what that means?"

"Homika…I don't want to think about what would happen if they did try to harm you or anyone else I cared about. I couldn't let it happen so…there you go."

She frowned. It was as she thought but it still didn't sit right with her. Especially that unconditional part. "And why were you being such a jerk? To drive us away?"

He sighed. "Yea…if my plan doesn't succeed, I could be stuck in Team Rocket for awhile. The last thing I want is for you guys to get dragged into it. If I caused you to hate me…you also wouldn't waste your time trying to rescue me—"

"Well you know what I'm gonna say about that? Too f****** bad! We're gonna do our best to get you out of this mess! You don't belong with Team Rocket and all those slime balls…you need to be by me—I mean us," she said. She thought it over in her head and shook her head. "F*** that, I want you by my side again!"

He smiled, "Thanks. Well I can't ask you to rescue me but—"

"And what about you and Jasmine? What's going on between you two?"

He looked away for a bit. "That…well…how do I explain this? Well…I guess some things were said in the heat of the moment…that probably shouldn't have been said."

She folded her arms. "And?"

"Jasmine and me need to talk that one over—'

"I hope you aren't expecting me to switch places with her. Like hell if I'm gonna work for Team Rocket!"

"I don't expect you to. How are things over here?"

She noticed Iris appear from behind him. If she could keep him distracted a bit longer…"Well…we're managing so far. We tried to rescue the other gym leaders but…Jasmine kind of threw a wrench in those plans and it seems like—"

"Sorry but that was my idea to move them—"

"You really have taken a turn for the worse."

"Well…the only way I can earn their trust and get them to leave you all alone…is to do what they ask and go above and beyond."

"You're willing to destroy your entire reputation to do this? Just to stop Team Rocket? What good is it if you end up loosing yourself in the process?"

He sighed. "I know, I know. That's why I'm going to depend on you to save me. I know you'll do everything you can to stop me from going that far—"

"You bet motherf*****. I am the HBIC here and we won't let it happen! Almost everyone knows and likes you to some degree, some of us more than others obviously."

"HBIC?"

She smiled. "Head b**** in charge!"

Iris inched closer but suddenly out of nowhere, Pitch dove out of the air and swooped down at her. She cried out and jumped back, getting his attention. As he was distracted, she reached over and grabbed a few Pokeballs off his belt. "Hey!"

"Turnabout is fair play, you steal our Pokemon and we can steal some of yours! Plus you'll be easier to capture without some of your Pokemon," she said with a laugh.

Ethan frowned. "Did you do that on purpose?"

"Well I wanted some answers…but I figured if we could swipe some Pokemon from you as well, why the f*** not?"

"You learned that from me…"

"You betcha!" She said, beaming with pride. "Now…we got you surrounded—"

"You forgot I still have Chase," he said as he summoned the little ghost candle. Homika cursed aloud when she realized she hadn't grabbed one of the Pokeballs holding him, though it was her intention. Soon Ethan and his Pokemon vanished and she stomped her foot.

"F*** f*** f*** f***************! He got away again! How did he just slip out from underneath our noses like that?"

Iris just looked at her as she cursed up a storm. "Umm…well didn't we still get some of his Pokemon? Doesn't that count?"

She stopped her tantrum and tried to think it over. It was true…he had got away but now he was short a few Pokemon. She would have preferred that they capture Wiggler or Chase but some was better than none, right? "Ahh…well…yea, I guess you're right. I bet we ended up stealing Bolt and Sam."

Iris nodded. "Maybe, next time we can somehow nab Chase?"

"If we grab that f****** candle, that would maybe prevent him from making those escapes. If we can get him and Wiggler…we'll be in even better shape—"

"Iris, Homika!"

She turned to see Skyla run up and she realized who wasn't with her. "F***! Don't tell me Jasmine got away?"

Skyla blushed. "I-I'm sorry. I was gonna lock her up somewhere but she surprised me with a sneak attack and got away while I was trying to recover. She used her Pokemon to make my limbs numb for a bit!"

She grumbled. "That f****** sucks. Man, they've really gotten high on the evil. They are the last type I could see acting like this."

"What do we do?"

She let out a sigh. "Well…uh…I don't know right now but we did steal some of his Pokemon! Iris and me were hoping to capture him or some of his more useful Pokemon but…well…you know."

"I'm so so so—"

"Augh, shut the f*** up Red! It's okay…those two are becoming expert escape artists already, it's what Team Rocket knows to do best, run away with their tails between their legs like the f****** cowards they are! Well I'm not saying those two are cowards but…you get what I'm trying to say? If you hang out with the Tepigs, expect to get dirty…or burnt…or…f*************! You two are smart, you get it, right?"

Skyla smiled. "It's okay Homika. We get it."

"I think I do," Iris said. Homika nodded.

"Good."

"I still can't believe they…huh?" Skyla said as she began to inspect the runway. Homika watched her walk around, inspecting the areas where the smoke rose from and she looked a bit troubled. "This is so weird…I could have sworn these were explosions but just from looking around, it doesn't seem like he did all that much damage here."

"Really?"

"Yes but I don't get it."

"Maybe…umm…it was…a show of force? I mean…why would they damage this place that much; it seems like a pretty important place to use. Perhaps they wanted to shake everyone up, flex their muscle and show that if they step out of line, Team Rocket will really f*** s*** up!"

Skyla folded her arms. "Hmmm…I think I see what you're getting at Homika."

She smiled. "Yea, exactly. Or I dunno, maybe he just made it looked like he did a lot of damage but spared us—"

"The damage Jasmine caused was very real. All of those computers will have to be replaced."

"Yea well…f***! Those two have really made a mess of things! I wish they had talked this over…then again, I guess he didn't really have time to do a powwow about this but still…f***!" She said. She felt like curling up in a ball and just hiding in a corner. Or…"F***…maybe I just need a drink."

"Don't even think about it!"

"Huh?" She asked, looking over at Skyla. Skyla waved a finger in her direction.

"You think alcohol is going to help?"

"Well…a lot of it would. I could just forget about all of this. It's so frustrating!"

"We're all going through stuff but getting drunk isn't going to help you. You'll get hung-over and then feel even worse about being hung-over. Don't do it! We'll get through this. You think Ethan wants to see his cute girlfriend a disgusting drunk?"

She stomped her foot. "F*** him! He's made a mess of everything. Well maybe not him…f*** Team Rocket! F*** them to hell! I can't wait until we give them the boot. Just thinking about it makes me feel like I'm on f****** cloud 9. And then you know what I'm gonna do next?"

"I'm…kind of afraid to ask," Iris said.

"He's gonna be really f****** sore after I get through with him," she said, clasping her hands together. Iris looked confused but Skyla only turned as red as her hair.

"Oh well…that's nice. So what do we do now?"

She sighed. "F*** if I know. We'll have to think it over."

"What about the Elite Four?"

"F***! Yea, you're right. We better go check up on them. I bet they'll want to take care of them too since they are the biggest threat to Team Rocket right now!"

"So should I go get the others?" Skyla asked.

"Yea, go get them. We need to meet up and discuss this. And we can fill them in on what we know."

Skyla hurried off and she sank to her knees. She sat down on the runway cross-legged and buried her face in her hands. "H-h-how does he do it? How does he handle this? I'm like a nervous f****** wreck! What if I screw up?"

"But…you haven't."

"I'm going to f*** this all up…somehow. I sometimes wondered what he was thinking when he was in charge, like when he welcomed Lyra into the group and such. I even thought I could probably do better but…f***! I'm so gonna—"

"Hey, you're supposed to be our leader! And how can you say you've screwed up when we're still around?"

"We've barely done anything…"

"We've barely been together as a group! Ethan and Jasmine may have got away but they both know we can't be underestimated. And we were able to steal some of his Pokemon, right? Are you saying it was wrong for us to believe in you?"

She looked up at Iris. "H-huh? I…I…no. No, I want you to believe in me. I don't want to fail…I can't. If I…if we fail…" she said before hitting the ground with her fist. "F***, we can't fail! We don't have a choice."

"Hey you two! I'm back!"

Skyla returned with Marlon and company in tow, causing Homika to get up. She dusted herself off and smiled. "All right, so did Red explain what we know?"

"What do we know?"

"I guess not. Well…we were able to corner Ethan but he got away, as usual. I did find out that he joined Team Rocket out of fear for what they might have done to his loved ones."

Marlon chuckled. "So it's just like you thought."

"Yea but he seems to think the only way we can win is for him to…well I guess he didn't care to fill us in on all of those details but somehow it involves him gaining their trust. And if that means he has to do bad things…so be it."

"He makes an awful villain," Skyla said.

"Yea, he does. What terrifies me is how good he is at it. I'm not used to Team Rocket being effective and so slippery like that. I don't know all the details about his plan but our only choice is to drag him out of there but…I guess we'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to meet up with the Elite Four. I bet that is Ethan's next target."

"Don't you mean Team Rocket?"

Homika shook her head. "I wish but I bet the more he earns their trust, the more eager he'll be to keep trying to earn it. And it looks like some of these attacks…were his f****** idea!"

Cilan frowned. "That's even worse news."

"I know…that's why we have to do all we can to stop Team Rocket. If we don't…I don't think we can trust Ethan and Jasmine to. So…we will need to make sure the Elite Four is okay. Sooo…Marlon, can I count on you and Elesa to go make sure they're cool?"

"Wait…just the two of them?" Skyla asked.

Homika winked at her. "Why not? Besides, we can't have all of us go there. What if Ethan shows and rolls over all of us with ease? Then what?"

"No problem. I think Elesa and me can do the job. Maybe Ethan will be thrown off by some of our Pokemon."

"He will…at first. I figure he'll get around it so you two will have to be careful. Meanwhile the rest of us will…figure out what to do next. We just gotta figure out where they might strike next…and beat them to it."

She sighed. Something was bugging her about his involvement with Team Rocket but just what was it? She knew she didn't like him working with Team Rocket but something about how they were using him didn't sit right with her. "Huh," Cilan said. "HBIC, could I ask you something?"

"Sure!"

He folded his arms. "Well…haven't you noticed that the rest of Team Rocket has gone AWOL? Like, they don't seem interested at all in using the rest of Team Rocket. They're perfectly happy to just let Ethan do it all. Well him and Jasmine."

She nodded. "Y-yea, I see what you mean but isn't that obvious? He's doing all of this to prove his allegiance to them."

"I mean…what if it isn't that? What if they're just giving him enough rope to hang himself? By letting him do all these crimes and letting people see it, he's quickly torpedoing his reputation."

"But we know that, right? That's what he's hoping to do."

Cilan nodded. "Yea I know but what if it works too well? What if it works so well that he can't come back? It almost seems like they could be setting him up for that."

"Not come back? Of course he can! If he helps defeat Giovanni's enhanced Pokemon and put an end to their scheme, it'll all work out. People will be mad at him of course but when they see that—"

"That's assuming world domination is still their actual goal."

"Of course it is! Why else would they do all of this? You really think they would do all this just for them to frame him as the scapegoat for everything?"

He chuckled. "Well no. That would be pretty dumb but I'm sure getting everyone to believe Ethan is too far gone would be a really nice perk for Giovanni."

She cursed aloud. "Yea yea…I could see how they're in on his plan and just encourage it. If they're in on it, they might…"

"They'll just keep encouraging him to do worse and worse acts, making him more and more hated. It might get so bad that he might realize that there's no real way he can redeem himself and…n-no! F*** it, I won't let that happen! I can't let him do that! If he ends up like that…we can't let it happen!"

"Yea but like what can we do?" Skyla asked. Homika folded her arms.

"We need…a distraction. A distraction big enough that will force Ethan to ignore Marlon and Elesa as they help the Elite Four," she said. She snapped her fingers. "Haha, of course! A concert!"

"A concert? You think that will be big enough to warrant Ethan coming out to crash it? Wouldn't that be too obvious?"

Homika laughed. "It's so blatantly obvious that they would think it's too obvious but would be forced to check it out anyway because it's so obvious that it can't possibly be that obvious, right?"

They all looked at her with blank looks and finally Iris responded. "What?"

"F*** it, concert time! I've been really itching to do another one. I can only be away from my guitar for so long. I start to get the shakes, I forget things and I start bleeding in random places."

"What?" Iris asked.

"Stop looking at me like that!"

Archer tapped his fingers on the desk as he finished up his report. "So how did the people of Mistralton react to your actions?"

"Well they were pretty heartbroken. They had been attacked before but had real hope that they could get back on their feet. The attacks on the runway and the control tower. I think their sadness will soon turn to anger if you ask me."

Archer shrugged. "That's fine. As long as they see that we mean business and that if they try to do anything, things will only get worse."

Ethan smiled. "Yea but when they realize we didn't do much damage to the runway—"

"Eh, it's the thought that counts. Good job Ethan. We don't have anything for you to do for now so you're dismissed."

Ugh, it felt sick to be praised by Archer but he smiled. "Glad to hear it." He said as he left Archer's makeshift office. He hadn't been able to get close to Giovanni like he hoped and now that Homika had stolen that Hypno; he couldn't stop that Pokemon of his either. Jasmine stood outside the small office they had given him and smiled at him as he walked up. "How did it go?"

"They were pleased, that's all. They don't have anything else for me though."

"Well that's for the best. At least they aren't disappointed or anything."

"Let's talk outside."

Outside of the Pokemon League building, he walked over to the nearby fence and looked out across the landscape. She stood next to him, shoulder to shoulder. "So what is it? Something's bugging you."

"I don't know how much longer I can do this. I feel more and more dirty for working with them."

"Y-yea, me too."

He shook his head. "And the worst part is that the more I do, the less disgusted I feel. I'm almost getting used to it now."

"But now that you're in so deep, can you really turn back now?"

He pursed his lips. "Well I suppose I could but I don't think it would turn out well for anyone. They would see it and punish everyone for it. And they could just threaten me that they'll do even worse if I disobey the next time…I really am stuck."

"You aren't stuck."

"Yea I am. If I disobey, everyone I care about gets hurt. If I don't disobey…then…everyone will hate me. I thought I was okay with that before but now…I don't think people will forgive me even if I help stop Team Rocket."

Jasmine didn't respond and he stared up at the sky. "I think they'll forgive you. It will take some time…maybe a lot of time even but they'll come around?"

"I've seen what people are saying. They feel betrayed, furious even at me. What's worse is how Homika will suffer. Her career will be over if she stays with me. I don't want her to suffer like that. I don't want any of my friends to suffer any more…"

"Then…what can you do?"

He looked down and sighed. "I don't know. Is there anything I can do? Well…I guess I could just become so bad that everyone I know will be disgusted with me and not have want anything to do with me."

Jasmine grabbed him by the collar and forced him to face her. "A-a-a-are you serious? You can't do that…can you?"

"It's a thought…I don't know…I'm just at a total loss what to do."

"Maybe this was a bad—"

"You might as well get out. You still have your reputation largely intact."

"I told you I'm sticking with you until the end, you can't get rid of me that easily."

"Even if I end up becoming as bad as Giovanni? Come on Jasmine, you can't do that. I won't let you—"

"E-Ethan…I've already thrown everything away. I can't go back. I won't go back. If you have to become as evil as Giovanni…then so will I."

"But…" he began to say before tearing away. He entered Victory Road and walked down one of the caverns for a bit before he stopped at a wall and began to lightly bang his head against the wall. "I'm such an idiot. Why did I do this."

"Stop running away!"

"I told you to get out of here! If I'm going to end up going down this road, I'm doing it alone!"

"I already told you I'm with you until the end."

He spun to face her. "I won't let you Jasmine."

She stuck out her tongue at him. "Oh really, then what are you gonna do? You think you can defeat me?"

He took out a Pokeball. "Of course I can. I've done it before and I can do it again. Once I beat you, I want you to get out of here."

She took out a Pokeball herself but suddenly flung it at his hand, knocking his own Pokeball out of his hand. He jumped back against the wall, trying to shake off the pain of getting smacked in the hand like that. He began to go for another Pokeball but she suddenly kneed him in the stomach, causing him to slump down against the ground. While he was trying to recover, she reached down and took his remaining Pokemon. "You know, I wasn't exactly just sitting around and playing sidekick for you. I learned a few things or two from how you defeated all of the gym leaders and Iris without a single battle."

"Ugh…I…I don't remember physically attacking anyone."

"You used your Pokemon, didn't you?"

He looked away. "Ahh yea…I guess you're right…so you've beaten me…what do you want?"

Jasmine blushed a bit. "What do I want? Huh…you know, that's an interesting question. Ahhh I know…you will promise not to ask me to leave ever again."

"Ever?"

"Ever."

He sighed. "Well okay but—"

"No buts!"

"No buts," he said with a sigh. The pain had begun to subside a bit and he got to his feet. She pursed her lips and put her hands behind her back. "What's wrong?"

"Oh…there was something else but…well maybe it's okay now since…"

"What is it?"

She suddenly turned and kicked the wall opposite of him. "Why did I tell her that?"

"Tell her what? I don't understand what you're getting at."

She sighed and walked over to him. She suddenly pressed him against the wall and looked down at the ground. "Ethan…why is it that when we're finally together—"

"Huh but we've always been together as friends. Still are—"

"You don't get it, do you? I didn't tell you I loved you because I meant it as a friend. I didn't make out with you because that's what's friends do and I certainly didn't…" she said as she paused at the last one. She poked him in the chest and smirked. "And what happened at the cabin definitely was—"

"If you were so sincere about that…then why did you—"

"That…yea I guess that was really stupid of me. I thought I would be okay, that I could live with it at first but…ugh. I was wrong for thinking that."

He looked away. "I…this is all my fault. I thought trying to take out Team Rocket from the inside would work but I'm going to end up a bigger villain than Giovanni, I'll alienate everyone more than I expected and…" he said, a sick feeling rising in his stomach. "I've screwed up. I…guess the only good from this is…Homika will hate me. She'll hate me so much that she'll do anything to bring me down. She already has learned to get the drop on me. Maybe she can—"

"But if you lose…"

"If I win…I lose and if I lose…"

"It's going to be okay."

He shook his head. "No, it's not."

She pulled him up by the collar. "It will be okay. We'll get through this, together. Didn't you just tell me you didn't want to let me get dragged into—"

"That's why I'm asking you to leave. If anyone is gonna suffer, it'll be me and only me. That's—"

She pressed against him and locked lips with him, interrupting him mid speech. She pushed him down to the floor but he didn't feel anything from it. Only disgust for himself and what he had gotten everyone into. She pulled away and he felt dazed and confused. "The last thing you can do is stop believing in yourself. If you think you've been defeated, you've already lost. And you haven't lost, not by a long shot."

She dragged him to the ground and hunched over him. "How can you say that…when…"

She pressed her nose against his and smiled. "You're a smart person and I'm not half bad myself. If we put our heads together, we can think of a way. You aren't out of this by a long shot."

"I…" he started to say. There couldn't be a way, could there? He couldn't think of anything. What was his plan in the first place anyway? How pathetic…he couldn't even think of the plan he had. He noticed her leaning in again and he sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize for anything."

Homika leaned back in a chair of the now abandoned Team Rocket HQ in Castelia and put her hands behind her head as she watched the match playing before her on the screen. It was an old match in the Johto Pokemon League Tournament between Ethan and Crystal, one of the few times she remembered seeing Crystal lose. The door opened and she saw Skyla walk in, phone in hand. "Oh hey Homika…what are you watching? Hey, isn't that Ethan?"

"Yep, it's an old match between him and Crystal, the eventual Champion of the Tournament. From what Ethan told me, they grew up together and she was the one who trained him to become a Pokemon trainer so she knows how to deal with his tactics."

"W-w-wow, I didn't expect you to study this. I thought you would be practicing on your guitar."

She laughed. "I don't need all that much practice. I'm f****** awesome, so good that I can go up on stage and give them the show of their lives even if I haven't practiced for s***!"

"Oh, I see. Still it's nice to see our HBIC trying to stay on top of the game!"

Homika closed her eyes and smiled. "Of course! He's gonna be against me dragging him out of Team Rocket so he'll do everything he can to win. I've got to be prepared for anything."

"Well shouldn't we all be watching it together then?"

"Ahh…f***. Yea, you're probably right about that. S***, get everyone in here! We—"

"Oh but first there's someone on the phone for you."

Homika turned to face her. "Huh, someone for me? Who is it?"

Skyla thrust the phone forward. "She didn't say. I didn't recognize the voice to be honest."

Homika took it and gave Skyla a confused look before answering. "Hello…Homika here."

"Ahh hello. Homika huh? I've heard so many things about you."

"I hope it's good. If it's bad…f*** whoever told you that! They're dirty liars!"

"So I've heard that my dear old friend has taken a turn for the worse."

"Yea that f***** decided to join Team Rocket and he's gonna end up becoming worst than Giovanni the way he's going!"

"Is that so? Does the HBIC have room for a Johnny come lately?"

Her heart jumped a bit. "Ahhh well…f*** that sounds kind of good. We could use the help, especially since that jerk stole all our Pokemon. Uh…pardon for asking but who the f*** are you? You sound pretty confident about taking him on."

"Huh? Oh, I suppose I have been a bit rude in not introducing myself. I'm actually an old childhood friend of his and the Champion of the Pokemon League for Johto and Kanto, Crystal."


	20. Chapter 19: Heads I win, Tails you lose

"Hello?"

"Oh Erika…uh this is Ethan."

"Oh Ethan, how are you doing? It's been a while since I've heard from you or Jasmine. How are things over in Unova?"

"Ahhh well…they're going peachy…I guess. Yep—"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Oh…nothing. Nothing at all."

"Nothing."

"Yep, yep."

"Ethan I haven't been your friend for all these years for nothing. Even if I wasn't your friend, your distress is obvious."

"I guess it is. That's why I called you."

"Hehe, I think I already have it figured out. It's between you and Jasmine, isn't it?"

"Yea…yea it is."

"Aren't you already in a relationship?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm so why did you do it?"

"I don't know. I don't even know how it happened."

"Don't you? Maybe you do."

"Ahhh…maybe you're right."

"And you keep wondering if you did the right thing or if you made the right choice."

"Well…that still doesn't excuse what happened."

"Nice to hear but still I want to know why you did it."

"I guess…maybe deep down I would have liked to have a relationship with Jasmine and regret I never took that chance. I should have listened to you."

"So is that how you feel? That you weren't fair to Homika and that you really wanted to be with Jasmine? If that's true, you should have been completely honest with her and broken up with her first."

"Yea you're right. I haven't been fair to either girl."

"So?"

"I first need to make amends with Homika and ask for her forgiveness. She deserves that much."

"Sounds to me like you've decided to stick with Jasmine after all."

"I…don't deserve to be with anyone to be honest. Especially for not being such a…doormat. Look at what I've become, I'm going to become a villain, hated by everyone around, I've cheated on my girlfriend with my best friend and…I can't do anything about it."

"Yes you can."

"I can't, I'm…worthless. Pathetic, not worth anyone's time. I deserve what's coming to me."

Homika stood by the steps toward the back of the stage, leaning on her guitar as the opening act continued on with their song and she hunched over in pain. "Ugh."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm f****** sick to my stomach. My knees are knocking…I want to just sit over a trash can and puke my guts out."

Skyla slapped her on the back. "Then you're doing fine!"

"Just f****** peachy. Just peachy."

"So what's bugging you? It can't be the concert, can it?"

"F*** no. I'm confident about that. I've done it before, and I can do it again. That's actually the least of my issues. It isn't Team Rocket either. I think with another Champion working with us…along with one of the Elite Four here too…we're more than prepared for what they throw our way. It's just…"

The sick feeling in her stomach grew worse and she slumped to one knee. "Oh you must mean our little villain."

"I…I don't think I can face him now."

"Why? What happened?"

"I…oh…I'm just nervous. He beat me pretty badly before and I'm hoping that doesn't happen again," she said, coming up with the fastest lie she could. She didn't have it in her heart to tell Skyla what really bugged her.

"Oh, really? I thought you were talking about all those tabloid reports that are just killing Ethan. Painting him as an—"

"Yea…"

"But they're tabloids! Who takes that stuff seriously?"

"When it comes to Ethan and…Jasmine? I…I wouldn't be surprised."

"Huh, you really think he would cheat on you with her?"

"W-well, I…I just wonder about those two."

"Huh, but aren't you the HBIC?"

"I…" she said before turning to the side and throwing up. She wiped her mouth clean as the sick feeling in her stomach began to subside a bit. "Ahhh…I…f***! You bet I'm the HBIC! And don't you forget it!"

Skyla laughed. "Oh really? Then what is the HBIC gonna do?"

Homika rested the guitar on her shoulder. "What am I gonna do? That's simple Red; I'm not giving him up without a fight. If she thinks she can just take my boyfriend from me…hah! She's in for a big f****** surprise!"

She felt something tap her on the head and it felt like a stick or something. "Tee hee, you know, I think I'm beginning to warm to you. Think you could use a little more help?"

Homika turned to see the Grass gym leader from Kanto standing behind her and Skyla, her umbrella resting on her head. Erika pulled it back and rested it on her shoulder. "Huh, aren't you Erika? What are you doing here?"

Erika spun the umbrella on her shoulder. "Me? Oh, I'm here to help. Well actually, I think I need to give Ethan a good bop on the head or two."

"A good bop on the head? Well I was planning to do that but well…"

"He really needs it."

"Hey, do you know if what they're saying is true…about Ethan and Jasmine?"

Erika tapped her lips. "Hmmm I wonder too. Why not ask him yourself?"

"That f***** won't give me an answer I bet. He'll just clam up; he's become kind of pathetic as of late. What happened to the guy I fell in love with?"

"He's still there, deep down. Seems like he's going through quite a bit which is why I'm just a tad annoyed with Jasmine for pushing herself on him. Ethan went along with it but he isn't the type to pursue that himself."

Homika gripped the guitar, wishing she could crush it with her bare fingers. How pathetic, so it was true. If he were standing here, the first thing she would do was kick him in the gut. "How dare he. How could he do that? How could he betray my trust like…f*******************! I'm such an idiot!"

"That was a quick change of tune."

She put a hand on her hip. "I hate his guts but…I guess I would be a an equal b**** for dumping his a** like a hot potato. How many times have I had to come back to him, groveling for an apology because I hurt him?"

Skyla looked at her hand and began to count on her fingers. "Ahh well…how many times has that happened?"

"Too f****** much. We're two miserable f**** who deserve each other," she said with a smirk. She heard the opening act began to finish their last song and sighed. "Yea. If you can help knock some sense into him…that would be cool."

"I'm sure I can."

She grasped the guitar and flipped the strap over her shoulders. "Time to get this f****** show on the road!"

She walked up the stairs as she heard the crowd chant her name; it felt like the greatest pick me up she had felt in a long time. Suddenly all her troubles seemed to melt away as the chants grew louder and louder. F*** Jasmine and her boyfriend stealing ways. F*** Team Rocket for making a mess of everything. F*** Ethan for losing sight of who he was. F*** all of it because it was time to play. She grabbed the mike and screamed into it. "Hello Castelia, do you know what time it is?" She yelled as she grabbed the mike and strode out to the edge of stage and held it out toward the crowd. They roared in approval and she nodded. "That's right! You know what f****** time it is! It's good to see all of you and you know what? I have one thing to say…f*** Team Rocket! F*** all of them, they think they can keep the Queen of Rock down? Well can they?"

The crowd roared its answer and she grinned. "That's right! They aren't gonna stop us because we're here to stay!" She yelled as she held up her fingers and snapped them. The band behind her began to play the familiar lyrics to her trademark song and she tapped her feet along with the beat. She turned and began to stride toward the back before spinning back around and slashing her fingers across the strings, causing a large shower of purple and green sparks to erupt from the edges of the stage. "D! O!—"

Suddenly the lights darkened, including the entire stage and the Team Rocket logo flashed on the screen behind her. Ethan tossed down a red smoke ball as he and Jasmine appeared on the edge of the stage back to back. If he was gonna go evil, he would do it on the biggest stage in front of everyone. Jasmine gave his hand a tight squeeze as he held out a Pokeball toward Homika. "F*** Team Rocket huh? I wonder about that!"

Jasmine tipped her cap. "You know what they say? Prepare for trouble!"

"Yes yes well let's make it double!"

"To protect the world from destruction!"

"To unite all the people's within our nation!"

Jasmine giggled. "To denounce the evils of truth and love."

Ethan outstretched hand to the sky toward the Team Rocket logo. "To extend to our reach to the stars above. Ethan!"

"And Jasmine—"

"F*** you! You think you can just interrupt my concert? I got a surprise for you!" Homika screamed. She strode toward the back, swinging her hips before jumping into the air and belting out a loud note on her guitar, causing a huge shower of purple and green sparks to appear in front of her. Ethan nodded. As he expected, she had a plan. Who would appear behind the shower? Skyla and Iris? Maybe even Marlon or Cilan. Even one of the Elite Four wouldn't shock him to be honest. Suddenly a familiar voice could be heard and he suddenly lost his voice.

"You've gotten just a bit to drunk on the dark side, don't you think? Gotten a little too cocky, haven't you?"

He heard an umbrella open up and his heart fell. He looked over at Jasmine, who looked just as stunned. "Yea well he's prone to that. Perhaps it's time to teach him a lesson. Or two…or even three."

The lights returned to the stage as Crystal and Erika appeared on stage in front of Homika. "Well what about this? Coming all the way from Kanto and Johto, can I introduce the Champion and the Gym Leader of Celadon City, Crystal and Erika!"

"C-C-Crystal? W-what are you doing here?"

Crystal tossed a Pokeball up and down in her hand. "Perhaps I should ask the same question. Joining up with Team Rocket, that's not you."

"M-maybe it is!"

"Is it?"

"Yes it is," Jasmine yelled.

"Oh shut up Jasmine," Erika said with a smile. She took out a Pokeball of her own. "I think the two of you—"

"Looks like you'll have the three of us to worry about," Archer said as he walked onto the stage from the side. He took out a Pokeball of his own. "Team Rocket sticks together."

Crystal winked. "You know, I had a feeling you all would start to show like roaches. Good thing I was able to coerce my dear little cousin into lending a hand."

Her cousin? He was still trying to recover from the shock of having to face Crystal of all people. Erika being here didn't help matters but a third person? Who would it be this time? A Pokeball flew from the crowd and landed on stage, summoning a Meganium of all things. "Is that who I think it is?" Jasmine asked.

"Leave Crystal to me. I'm sure you can take out Erika all the same," he said. He walked forward as the boos began to rain down. He nodded as he took it all in. "You know Crystal, you seem pretty confident. Too bad I've been doing some traveling around, you won't be prepared for—"

"Ethan, I'm the Champion. It's my job to keep tabs on my rivals and be prepared for anything they can dish out. And I think I would keep tabs on my oldest and greatest rival. And guess what? I haven't exactly been sitting around all day either!" She said as she summoned her signature Pokemon and the one she had the longest, Feraligatr. It outstretched its arms and let out a loud roar. Getting the infamous duel out of the way first, huh?

"What a shame. Wiggler has a pretty good track record with that gator," he said as he summoned Wiggler to the fight. Wiggler let out a squeak but before either could respond, her Pokemon appear magically appeared behind him and smacked him with a sucker punch before reappearing in its old spot. "Hey, when did he learn—"

He didn't get to finish as the Pokemon changed in appearance to its actual form, Zoroark. He summoned Wiggler back and brought out Pitch, figuring he could deal with Zoroark's speed better. "A Braviary, huh? Not bad, not bad."

Pitch let out a chirp as he took to the skies. Zoroark watched him fly into the air but didn't seem concerned. Or even like he cared. Pitch turned and nose bombed toward Zoroark but he knew this routine, he would let up and fly off in a different direction, avoiding whatever attack came his way. Just as he got close enough, Zoroark changed forms, turning into a Zapdos of all things. "I hope that bird can take this."

"Ahh Pitch, you better—"

Zoroark let out a cry as it unleashed a bolt of lightning right in Pitch's face. What's worse is that the poor bird began to flutter down to the ground. "You're kidding me? One hit and he's out? Ahh come back Pitch," he said as he summoned him back to his ball. He took out another Pokeball and brought out Wiggler again. "I'll just get this fight out of the way—"

"Is that so? Maybe I should do the same," Crystal said. She summoned Zoroark back and brought out one of her staples, Tyranitar. It roared in anger and Wiggler let out a squeak.

"It's okay, he's as slow as a sloth."

Crystal ignored him and summoned Gengar. It's glowed red and suddenly a large light blue rectangle appeared over the stage before vanishing a few seconds later. He looked around as she summoned it back. "As slow as a sloth? Not anymore!"

"Crystal, what are you talking about?"

"Ever heard of Trick Room?"

Wiggler let out a worried squeak but he didn't get to react as her Tyranitar charged forward and smacked into Wiggler, sending him flying off the stage. He watched him go and summoned him back. He wasn't gonna let him face a Tyranitar that could move like that. It would be a bloodbath. Not good, he was already down two Pokemon and what made things worse is that Homika had stolen three of them. He reached down to grab another one and then noticed the rest of them were gone. "Huh, where did my Pokemon go?"

"Surprise!" Iris said from behind. How had he fallen for that trick again? He grumbled as Crystal laughed.

"Come on Ethan, you still have a trick up your sleeve or two. Don't you? This is almost too easy."

He reached for his hat but Iris jumped up from behind and snatched it away. She ran past Crystal, tossing her the cap. Crystal turned it over, dumping out a few more Pokeballs. "Ahh…"

"Not bad, not bad at all."

He frowned. This fight hadn't gone as planned at all but he still had time to regroup. If he could get away, he could get the drop on some of them and get some of his Pokemon back. He summoned Chase and began to disappear from the stage. "Maybe next time!"

He quickly made his way back stage where he reappeared thanks to Chase. He looked up at the sky and grumbled, "Well Chase…that went well. Homika was even more prepared than I thought," he said. He chuckled. "She's doing far better than I thought. Doesn't really look like she needs me—"

"Ethan, we need to talk," Erika said as she slammed her umbrella in his chest. He hunched over in pain and looked over at her with a pained expression.

"Ow, did you have to do that? Where's Jasmine?"

Erika tapped him on the shoulder with her umbrella. "How about we talk first?"

"There isn't anything to talk about. I made my decision—"

"Oh?"

"I don't have a way out of this so I'll just have to take on the role of the villain—"

"That's where you're wrong, you do have a way out of this."

"Not when they could harm my friends and family. I can't turn my back."

"Is that so? Have you actually given it some thought?"

He nodded. "Of course I've given it some thought. A lot of thought in fact. There's no way I'll let them harm them."

"So how about getting back the backbone you once had and letting them know what happens if they touch them?"

"Huh?"

"You're really going to let Team Rocket boss you around like this? Especially after you've beaten them before? What's wrong with you?"

"Ahhh…"

She tapped him again with the umbrella. "And what about you and Jasmine?"

"I…"

"Yes?"

"I wasn't being fair to Homika. She doesn't deserve to be with someone like me. A guy with no spine—"

"So you're saying Jasmine deserves the same?"

"Ahhh I…"

"Ethan you need to make a choice. Don't him haw around or be all vague. It's obvious you can't be in a relationship with both, it won't work. So you're gonna have to pick someone and you better be sure about it. If you think you'll waffle, then don't pick anyone. Either way you have to make it up with Homika. And if it is Homika, then you're gonna have to break it to Jasmine."

"You mean break her heart."

"Yep. She's a big girl, she can recover. And if you wish to be with Jasmine…"

But hadn't he already made that choice? Homika had all but begged for him to break up with her and get with Jasmine. Twice now he had a choice between the two and both times had sided with Homika. Even now, he was most worried about her feelings and how she felt. He slapped his forehead. "I've screwed up."

"Glad to hear you agree."

"I'll find Homika and tell her everything. Maybe she can forgive me…or maybe not. It's her choice."

Erika smiled as she pulled back her umbrella. "And what about Jasmine?"

He folded his arms. "Well…umm…I hope the two of you can be happy. I'll just have to tell her that for now, we can't be friends anymore."

"Man, even I think that's extreme and I'm the one you cheated on," Homika said as she walked up. He turned to see Erika walk off and Homika slammed her foot into his chest. He winced from the pain and looked at her through one eye.

"I guess I deserved that, didn't I?"

She folded her arms. "So you two got to enjoy in a few kissing sessions, didn't you?"

He shook his head. "There was more than kissing involved."

"Yea, I kinda figured. If it were that…no you would feel guilty even if all you did was kiss."

He hung his head. "Mika, I'm sorry. I was wrong for cheating on you. It was all my fault—"

"You really expect me to believe it was all your fault?"

"Well it was…"

"Don't make me f***** kick you again! You know what happened! She wanted it from the start and you went along because you're spineless! She made out with you because you didn't say no. She even f***** you and you wouldn't say no! Even after the two of you agreed to set aside your feelings so we could be together. F***!"

He caught her foot before she could kick him again and he shook his head. "You're right. And we should have never admitted those things. We should have just kept our mouths shut."

"You should have! How could you do that to me? After all I've done…you just stomp all over my heart like that? How could you? I won't forgive you!"

Just the thought of that made him feel like pushing her over. Wouldn't forgive him? He makes one mistake and it's over? How many had she made? "Won't forgive me? What? And how many times did I have to forgive you after you betrayed me?"

Homika chuckled as she pulled back her foot. "You motherf*****…have you finally got your spine back?"

"I…huh?"

She held out her hand. "Yea, f*****, you hurt me. You hurt me real good but…I don't think I'm in the position to kick you to the curb when you've had to forgive me so many times for being such a cold and heartless b**** to you. Besides…"

"Yea but I can't let you suffer—"

"Suffer? Suffer? You're worried that me being with you is going to kill my career? You're trying to make my choice for me? F*** you! I'm Roxie, head b**** in charge and if I want—"

His phone ringing interrupted her. He looked down at his belt and picked it up. "Uh hello?"

"Ethan, we need to talk."

His heart almost fell into his gut. "Ahh Giovanni sir! Where are you sir?"

"I am on the top floor of the Battle Company building. I expect to see you there shortly."

"Ahh of course sir! I'll be there right away," he said. Giovanni hung up and he looked at the phone for a bit. "So Giovanni wants to meet with me."

"Him? What in the world would he want to meet with you for?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll find out soon—"

She pushed several Pokeballs into his chest. "Here, these are some of the Pokemon I stole from you. I have a feeling you're gonna need them."

He looked down at them and smiled. "Thanks. Hopefully…umm well hopefully it doesn't have to come to that."

"What, what are you talking about? You and Giovanni, this is what he's wanted! You can take him!" She said, poking her finger in his chest. He really wanted to believe her but somehow he wasn't so sure. Not after getting beat pretty easily by Crystal.

Giovanni stood in front of the large windows that lay behind the desk, windows that went from the floor to the ceiling and offered a great view of the city, including the area where the concert lay. He strode forward into the office; his heart beating faster than it had ever had before. "Giovanni sir, I'm here as you asked."

"So how are things going on the ground?"

Ethan looked off to the side. "Well they had some unexpected backup in the form of the Champion from Johto and one of the Kanto gym leaders. Caught us a bit off guard but we can still regroup and—"

"Unexpected? I was under the impression that you had them figured out."

"I did but Homika has surprised me with her craftiness. She's shaping out to be a worthy adversary."

"So then what would you suggest?"

"What would I suggest? Well…we can't have some of the Elite Four step in because of the dethroned Elite Four hanging around. And I didn't notice two gym leaders amongst the group so I wouldn't be shocked if she sent them there to back them up…so it'd be a mistake to call them in."

Giovanni nodded but still didn't turn around. Augh, how hard would it be to just push him through the window? He even had a clear shot but…he knew he just didn't have it in him. "Hmm."

"So…unless you feel like flooding the place with grunts, which wouldn't really help because most of the grunts aren't very good trainers. If they were, they wouldn't be grunts. I think…you should unleash some of your enhanced Pokemon on them instead."

"Now that sounds like an interesting idea."

"But that's just my suggestion sir."

Giovanni tapped the windows. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Well you did make me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"I never recall making such an offer. I did make an offer that if you don't surrender to me, that I would harm all your family and loved ones but that was it."

He was just messing with him. "Well—"

"You offered to serve me unconditionally."

"Yes but you could always change the conditions of the deal if you so deemed fit."

"Eh, perhaps."

"What's that supposed to mean sir?"

Giovanni turned to him and shrugged. "It means your family and friends were never in any real danger. You just believed that if you didn't succeed, they would pay. Actually I had no plans to do so."

"H-huh?"

He turned away from him and folded his arms. "Considering some of your friends could be potentially powerful allies—"

"But they can also be equally as deadly foes. And if there is no threat, what's stopping me from taking you down now?"

"Well see now you're threatening me and all I need is one phone call and there will be a threat to your loved ones."

"Ahh…"

"You know, you've been a real asset to Team Rocket. A much more effective grunt that even some of the executives. You've managed to make more of an impact that anyone else could. Just take a look at some of the papers on the desk."

Ethan walked over to it and looked down at some of the papers Giovanni had gathered. They were all pretty recent but each one had his face splattered on the front page. "I—" he said as he read some of them. A few of them were fiery articles, wondering aloud how a former hero could fall to such depths. He opened them up and the op ed pages seemed to be full of people calling for his head. "There's like…no focus on Team Rocket."

"You've become the face of Team Rocket, a greater villain than we could ever hope to be."

"Ahh but wouldn't they know—"

"What, that you're undercover? Doesn't look like it to me. They only see a traitor, a guy they once admired but can no longer trust. Do you really think you have a way out?"

"And what if I decided to take you down?"

"They would believe you were only trying to take over yourself and that you didn't care about the greater good. Even now, there are documents being leaked that link you to some of Team Rocket's more…questionable decisions like the forced experiments on Pokemon and—"

"Huh but how—"

"While you were out being a little villain, my team was hard at work. By the time the day is over, everyone will believe that you were one of the worst around. And since you were the one who suggested unleashing the—"

"H-huh but didn't you…oh," he said as he realized that he had suggested it. Giovanni never even hinted at it, it was all his idea. And knowing him, he recorded it somehow.

"And of all the other plans you suggested and how many times you seemed willing to sell out the others…you really have gone too far, haven't you?"

"N-no! I can still take you down if I have to!"

"Shame about those family and friends then."

"Ahh…was this your plan all along?"

"No. I really had big plans but Lyra let it slip that you had a Pokemon that could undermine our plans big time. When I realized you had a way of screwing it all up…I had to think of some other ideas. And then you up and decided to join Team Rocket. I couldn't let an opportunity slip like that. If I couldn't rule, I would let you bring chaos to it. What choice do you have?"

He heard the door open and Jasmine rushed in, looking a bit ragged. She bent over, gasping for air. "Ahh, Giovanni sir! You sent me a message to come over!"

"Yes, I'm leaving Team Rocket in your care."

"H-huh?"

"In…my care," Ethan said. Giovanni was basically leaving him in charge of Team Rocket, to crush the little resistance that remained and carry on.

"Of course. You're doing such a good job at it, I thought it was time for me to go back into retirement."

"Giovanni sir, do you think that's wise? Couldn't he rebel—"

"He won't rebel. He doesn't have a choice and I doubt the populace at large will take him back now either. Not when they see him just like me."

"Ahh."

Ethan looked away, feeling disgusted. If he tried to resist, the people he cared about would be harmed. Giovanni walked up to him and handed him a large gold ring with the Team Rocket logo made of rubies. "This is the official sign that you are now in charge. Please take good care of Team Rocket, I'll be watching. Oh and those Pokemon you need are in the desk," he said as he walked off. He heard the elevator doors open and close and felt Jasmine grab his shoulders.

"Ethan, what is he talking about?"

He looked down at the ring. The perfect scapegoat, Giovanni would walk away clean while he had to deal with the mess. He glared at the ring and clutched it in his fist. "He meant exactly what he said. I'm in charge of Team Rocket now."

"Huh but—"

"Get out of here Jasmine. There's no place here for you anymore. We're done anyway—"

"You can't take over Team Rocket! Are you nuts? You're better than this, you can fight them. Turn over those Pokemon to the authorities and—"

"Turn myself in? Is that what I'm supposed to do? If I turn myself in…everyone I care about is in trouble. He'll see fit to that!"

She stepped away and looked away. "B-b-but you can't! If you—"

"Just go away."

"But if someone—"

He ignored her and walked over to the desk. He opened it up and found several Pokeballs inside. He looked them over and picked up the one that looked different from all the others. This would be that Pokemon, the one up with the likes of some of the legendary Pokemon. The one that no one had been able to defeat, the one he would use to crush Homika's little group. "Didn't I tell you to get out of here?"

She glared at him and he began to chuckle. "Ethan…"

"Hold on…didn't you say yourself that if I went down this road, you would follow with me? What happened to that?"

"I…I didn't exactly expect you to go—"

"Looks like I'm going to. You can either get out like I asked or stick around or watch. I suggest you do the former," he said as he slipped on the ring and walked over to the windows. "I wonder what I should call it? Giovanni said it answers to any name he calls it so—"

"E-Ethan! Don't do this! P-Please don't do this!"

"I don't want to do this anymore than you do but…I've got no choice," he said with a grimace. He had decided that if he was going to be evil then so be it…no backing down on that now. He looked over at Jasmine, who just hung her head.

"I can't believe this. I can't believe you would…do this," she said as she sank to her knees. She looked down at the floor for a bit and sighed. "B-but…I did promise to be with you until the very end…so…will Homika forgive me for this as well?"

"A bit late for that, don't you think?"

She got to her feet and forced a smile. "You're…right," she said. She walked up to him and patted him on the back. "So, until the end?" She asked as she stuck out her hand. He reached over and shook it.

"Looks like it."

Homika looked down at her phone as it buzzed a bit and saw a message come up. "H-huh…why the f*** is Jasmine apologizing to me?"

"Huh, didn't she already do that for—"

"Yea but…f*** her! She just said she's going back on her promise to not be with him. What the f***…I'm gonna kill the both of them! F*** them…f*** him, we're done!"

Cilan folded his arms. "Didn't you just see some of the news? There is a bunch of stuff being leaked, pointing Ethan to being behind a lot of Team Rocket's recent crimes."

"W-w-w-what? They just made him the scapegoat for everything? How do they get away with that? F***, don't tell me that's why she's apologizing! That—"

She heard a loud crash and looked off in the direction of the Battle Company building. "Did you guys just hear a bunch of glass shattering?" Iris asked.

Homika saw what was coming. "Ethan…"


	21. Chapter 20: Team Rocket Wins?

"S-S-S-So what's the plan Ethan?"

"Simple. We completely crush them."

"What?"

"I'm serious. If Giovanni wants a show, we'll give it to him."

"But that seems so…I mean couldn't we just defeat them and call it a day?"

"You weren't listening then. I said we're gonna crush them. Beat them so badly they won't come back to cause trouble."

"Ahhh…"

"You still can get out. I'm not forcing you to do this you know," he said.

"I…I…Ethan why do you have to do this? There's a way out, I know it! If you do this—"

"I'm not here to argue. I already made my choice; you can either support me or get out. I'd suggest getting out to be honest."

"Ethan…"

He chuckled. "You heard what he said he did. There's no real hope for me anyway. I lost out on my chance to live a normal life now so I guess I should…"

"Ethan, there's still a chance!"

"No. It's nice of you to say that though."

"Ethan…please. Don't do this…I'm begging you, please."

"And what if I ignore you? Will you stop me?"

He felt her wrap her arms around his chest. "I love you but…if I have to stop you…I w-w-w…"

"Well?"

"Just…do what you have to do."

He turned and tapped the giant dragon on the back of his neck. "All right uh…not sure what I'll call you but use Hyper Beam!"

It let out a loud roar before unleashing a huge beam of energy, bigger than any other Hyper Beam attack he had seen before. This really was the ultimate Pokemon. Down below he could see everyone scatter. "Good. Let's land, it'll be easier to deal with the others down there."

"Ethan, don't do this."

He ignored her as the dragon dove toward the ground and landed with a tremor as strong as a Fissure attack. No wonder Giovanni rolled over everyone with him. It was kind of cool to even have such a powerful Pokemon on your side. Just a shame it had to happen in this situation. He rolled off and landed on the ground. "So who's first?"

"You know, I really didn't expect you to do this," Homika said as she walked forward. He held up his hand with the ring on it.

"You're looking at the newest leader of Team Rocket."

"Cute. When are you gonna give up this charade? Being the villain doesn't suit you."

"I'm not."

"You f*****. I guess I'll just have to knock some sense into you," she said as she summoned her Scolipede. Ethan laughed.

"I wonder, should I just crush it or just take it away from you?"

"Shut up!" She yelled. Out of nowhere, Crystal's Tyranitar charged forward but he could only laugh. The dragon let out a growl before swinging one of its giant steel plated claws forward and knocking out her Tyranitar in one hit.

"Sorry Crystal but you're gonna have to do better than that."

"What do you call this thing?"

He folded his arms. "That's a good question. I'll have to give him a name after I beat all of you. Something really threatening and intimidating."

She took out another Pokeball. "So does this make you feel big? You need some new version of Mewtwo to beat me? That you can't do it with regular Pokemon?"

"A win's a win. No one in history will care that I won with the new Mewtwo; they'll just remember how I crushed everyone. So who's the next sacrificial lamb?"

Homika pushed Crystal aside. "Don't bother. We both know what's gonna happen."

"Giving up already?"

He heard a loud roar and looked up to see an almost exact copy of the dragon Pokemon he had. He chuckled as he saw Iris riding atop it. "No, not yet."

"Cute, a Ditto. I don't think that's gonna work very well though."

Iris's Ditto Dragon let out a loud roar of its own and unleashed what appeared to be Dragon Breath but it had little effect. "Huh but he's a dragon—"

"I'll give you a helpful pointer. He's part steel, part water and part dragon. I'll let you figure out what to do. Or maybe I won't," he said. He pointed toward it. "Hey, use Zap Cannon!"

"Zap Cannon?! But—"

She didn't get to finish as the dragon opened its mouth and shot a large beam of electrical energy straight at Ditto's face. It suddenly reverted back to its blob form as it too suffered a one hit ko. He yawned. "Man, at least try."

He looked back at the dragon and suddenly a bunch of vines began to wrap around its body. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what good would that do. He was part steel; he could easily break those vines. For some reason he didn't see Jasmine atop the dragon anymore and wondered when she had run off to. "You know, you've gotten pretty cocky. You should probably make sure you got tabs on all your foes," Erika said with a smile. She appeared nearby, sat atop a Tangrowth. So that was the Pokemon behind all these vines.

"What are you planning? He's part steel, those vines won't hold him—"

"They'll hold long enough!"

Marlon?! Ethan turned to see Marlon appear atop the ledge of a nearby building. Next to him was a Poliwrath, who leapt off the building. Drat. He summoned Bolt but the little spider didn't get very far as an Excadrill popped out of the ground and attacked him. So much for that idea. Poliwrath landed atop the dragon with a powerful karate chop, causing it to cry out in pain. He took out the Pokeball holding the Hypno. "Not bad, not bad at all but he's pretty tough. It's gonna take a bit more than that—"

He felt someone grab his hand holding the Pokemon and saw Homika had ran up and tried to take it away. He turned and tried to get a grip on it. "Not so fast!" She yelled as she suddenly kicked him in the stomach, causing him to lose his grip. He stumbled backwards holding his stomach while she held it up. "Ha! You got pretty careless again! You really are pretty bad as a villain!"

Ugh, maybe he was. He thought it would be pretty easy with this powerful Pokemon but it seemed like Homika already had a plan in place. Or she was just winging it and doing a pretty good job at it. He turned his attention back to the dragon, which continued to take powerful blows from Marlon's Poliwrath. He thought about using Wiggler but remembered he hadn't gotten a chance to heal any of his own Pokemon from his earlier battle. This really wasn't going as planned. He took out a Pokeball holding another one of the enhanced Pokemon Giovanni had given him. He thought about summoning it and then thought better of it. It was part steel and dark, Poliwrath would tear it apart as well. For being a bunch of ultimate Pokemon, they sure seemed to share a lot of the same weaknesses.

"What's wrong Ethan? Tongue tied?" Homika asked as she stuck her tongue out at him. She pressed the Pokeball against her cheek. "You look like you're quickly running out of options. Maybe you should give yourself up."

Yea, that wasn't an option. The dragon broke free of the vines and shook the Poliwrath off his back finally. He ran over and climbed up onto his back. "Let's take to the skies and regroup!"

It let out a loud roar before flying into the air. He looked down and folded his arms. "So now what? I can't lose…if I lose, Giovanni will make me pay but I'm…not so sure I can win now either."

He tapped his fingers on its back. So how would he get out of this? Homika was right, he had gotten real cocky. He figured he could just show up and win but that wasn't the case. Homika and the others weren't about to let him do that. But if he lost and lost easily…Giovanni would figure he had just thrown the fight and again, the inevitable would happen. He rested his head in the dragon's back and sighed. "There really is no way out. I'm gonna fail and…and…n-no. There is a way out of this."

He smiled. "It's a risk but…okay, let's go back down! Time for round two!"

The dragon roared and turned back toward where the others were gathered, just as a large lightning bolt hit nearby. He looked off in that direction and grumbled. "She really is pretty ruthless. I thought they would be worse off when I left but she's done a pretty good job in my place. Maybe…" he said as a sick feeling grew in his stomach. Maybe he wasn't such a great trainer and leader at all. If she could imitate his screwball strategy and get everyone to fall in line and follow her lead…"I really am worthless, aren't I?"

Homika looked up at him as he and that stupid dragon came back toward the ground. "I really thought he was gonna stay up there a bit longer."

Crystal giggled. "I always told him that he should stick to the obscure and unique Pokemon he seemed drawn to. I knew if he got some powerful Pokemon in his hand, he would forget all the strategy he had used before and just relied on their brute strength."

She looked over at her. "Huh, really? You told him that?"

"Yep. He actually agreed with me, saying he probably would just get cocky if he stuck with traditionally strong Pokemon and he was glad to work with the team he had. Look what's happening now, he's got the equivalent of Mewtwo, maybe even stronger but he's just relying on its brute strength. That will only get you so far and look what's happening here."

Homika folded her arms. "I bet Giovanni figured that as well. He really set Ethan up pretty well…set him up so he could watch him crash and burn."

Crystal sighed. "Yea and that's what worries me. What will Ethan do when he's lost everything?"

"But that f***** hasn't lost everything. Jasmine is still with him…I think. Where did she go? She just ran off!"

Ethan and dragon landed in front of them with another powerful tremor. She steadied herself and looked over at the Hypno. "Hey, can you do anything about that control device on it?"

"The what?"

Homika got to her feet as the tremor ended. "All of these Pokemon Team Rocket experimented on are controlled with these large red collars. You can't disable them or usurp their control except if you have this enhanced Hypno."

Crystal summoned her Magnezone. "Then you'll need some cover."

"Hey Erika, we're gonna need your help again!" Homika yelled. The dragon turned toward them and opened its mouth and her eyes grew wide. The Hypno waved its hands in front of them as a large transparent blue energy wall appeared in front of them as the dragon unleashed Hyper Beam at them. It reflected back at it but had little effect thanks to its steel typing. Large vines began to wrap around the dragon's body again while Crystal's Magnezone charged up another attack. She looked off to the side and saw Marlon's Poliwrath and Excadrill both charging up for attacks of their own. "Ha, Ethan won't know what hit him!"

The dragon let out a roar and began to snap apart some of the vines Tangrowth had summoned. She figured that but she only needed her to hold it for a tad. All three Pokemon unleashed their attacks on the dragon, Magnezone with Zap Cannon, Excadrill with Earthquake and Poliwrath with Aura Sphere. Even the Hypno contributed with an attack of its own, shattering the control collar as the dragon took attacks from all sides, stirring up a bunch of dust. She coughed a bit and waved her arm as she tried to see through the dust. "All right Ethan, come out! You know you're beat! We've got you outnumbered and you haven't even bothered with a strategy. Your most powerful Pokemon is hurting and you haven't even bothered to heal your other Pokemon. It's over!"

As the dust began to clear, she could see him standing atop the dragon, arms folded. Defiant to the end. "Is it really over?"

"Yes it is! You really think you stood a chance? Maybe if you had went with some sort of strategy but it's clear to me you got cocky and now you're paying for that!"

"You really think it's over?"

"Of course it is! Now how about you just give up?"

He looked down at her and sighed. Now the only thing he could hop for was for Jasmine to come through. He had asked quite a bit of her but it really was the best way out of this mess. "I'm sorry but if you think I'm just gonna give up that easily…you're mistaken!"

He took out another Pokeball and heard a familiar voice cry out. "Don't even think about it Ethan!"

He turned to see Jasmine, riding atop her Steelix. "Huh, Jasmine? I thought you were with him!" Homika said.

Jasmine stared straight at him and he only nodded at her. "Oh so you decided to turn on me too? That's…cute…"

"Ethan…I'm sorry," she said. The Steelix let out a loud roar and summoned a bunch of huge rocks. It let out another roar and all of the rocks flew toward him like deadly missiles. He really wished he could have apologized to Mika first but…

Did she really just kill him? She stared where he once stood and then down at the rocks that lay to the side of the dragon. Did she really…before anyone could stop her; she ran forward and grabbed Jasmine off the Steelix. She dragged her to the ground and stared right into her face. "What the f*** did you just do?"

"I-I-I—"

"I asked what the f*** did you just do? This is some sort of trick, right? He just did this to fake his death right?"

Jasmine's eyes grew watery as she dropped a Pokeball on the ground. "I'm s-s-sorry Homika…I really am. I…I…I didn't want to do it but…he…made me—"

"You…you listened to him?! He asked you to kill him and you just…did it?"

"I-I-I—"

Homika pulled her fist back and Jasmine winced in preparation of the punch. She was lying, she had to. It would be just like him to fake his death and get away with that stupid ghost candle. She picked up the Pokeball and looked at it. "Is this yours?"

"It's…Chase."

"You…what?"

Jasmine didn't say anything and she grabbed her collar with both of her hands and shook her. "Tell me you b****! You better freaking tell me!"

"I…I…I stole it from him. He wanted to fake his death and get away but…but…"

"You…"

"I'm sorry Homika but I couldn't let him go on like that. I-I-I—"

"So you decided to kill him. You f****** killed him! How could you?!" She yelled as she punched Jasmine in the face. There was more coming for her but first she had to see if Jasmine was lying or not. She summoned the Pokemon inside and her rage grew as the Litwick appeared. She tossed it to the side while Jasmine tried to scurry away. She rushed forward and grabbed her by the collar again. "Don't even think about running away!"

"B-b-but…he's free from Team Rocket…right?"

"And you think this was the best way?"

"I…didn't want to do it…but I had no choice. I even tried to talk him out of it but he was so…so…lost. He…didn't know what to do. If…if he lost, Giovanni would have retaliated. Ethan…Ethan thought that if perhaps he got killed…that would…would be enough."

"You killed him. You f****** killed him you b****! I'm gonna kill you with my bare hands! You cheated with him and then you take him away from me like this? And you try to f****** justify it?!"

She pulled back her fist again. She thought about really hitting her hard again, but something held her back. And it wasn't even anyone but just…"Get out of here. I don't ever want to see your f****** face as long as I live. And if I ever see you again…you'll be lucky to have just a bloody nose," she said as she shoved Jasmine to the ground. She began to walk back over to the dragon and could see a white glove sticking out from underneath the rubble and she lost it.

"So, he decided to use that little loophole," Archer said as they watched the coverage on the TV. The headlines had tagged him as the leader of Team Rocket and he could only chuckle at how well the plan had worked. "It's like you don't even exist anymore."

"Our plan was thorough. And he did such a great job of trying to prove himself to us; it was pretty easy to paint him in with the rest of us. It really is a shame. Before he got those Pokemon, he really did a lot of useful work for us."

Archer grumbled. "Still, do you think it was right to just let him have all those Pokemon? What about all of our hard work?"

"Our hard work would have been undermined thanks to Lyra leaving that Hypno to him. I wasn't going to sit around and be defeated by him again so I took the initiative. It's fine anyway, with the money we made selling that research to others, we can live comfortably for the rest of our lives," Giovanni said with a shrug.

Ariana sighed. "Still all of that hard work. I would have loved to see us go forward with our plans, while still blackmailing him into working for us. It looked as if we could have really broken his spirit and get him to see our way of thinking."

"No thanks. He would have found a way out of it. I was always nervous with him working with us. He's too dangerous."

"Dangerous yes but I prefer keeping him close and under a watchful eye. It's easier to be prepared for whatever he plans to do, rather than just trying to figure it out and counter it. He's very unpredictable. I was unconvinced of his death until they pulled out the body."

They heard a knock at the door and Archer looked over at Petrel. "See who that is, will you?"

Petrel grumbled as he sundered over to the door and answered it. The door burst open, Petrel falling backwards as Jasmine strode in. "Well well…"

"Giovanni, do you know what you've done?"

"Got my most hated for to kill himself?"

"Th-that's not funny! He wouldn't have to do this if—"

"You expected for me to show him mercy?"

"I didn't expect you to torture him with the knowledge that if he didn't perform up to task, you would harm his friends and family? How do you expect anyone to not crack when under that kind of pressure?"

"Don't you get it you idiot? That was the point. Besides, I didn't actually say I would harm his friends or family. He just assumed I would. He put the pressure on himself."

"Liar!"

Archer rolled his eyes. "So why did you come here? You think you can stop all of us by yourself? I could only see Ethan or Crystal pulling that off but Ethan is dead and Crystal isn't anywhere nearby."

She took out a Pokeball. "I don't care. I'll take you down anyway I can—"

"Even if you end up pushing the daisies like our dear departed friend?"

She gripped the Pokeball so hard it looked as if she would crush it. "Even if I have to join Ethan."

"Well that's cute. Well I guess I should oblige you," he said as he took out a Pokeball. Suddenly they heard what sounded like something wooden being smashed open and turned to see Giovanni lying on the ground in front of the desk with someone holding a smashed guitar in hand but thanks to the lack of light near the desk, he couldn't make it out. Though he had a good idea who would use such an attack. "Good evening f*****. Nice to see you again."

Homika sat in her trailer, staring at the screen where she could see the opening act performing the first of their four songs. They were some obscure f****** band from Hoehn, the Nosepass Rockers. Apparently a gym leader named Roxanne managed them but she didn't really care about the details. She grabbed a bottle of strong alcohol and stared at it. She could almost hear Ethan whining to her about going back to alcohol again. "Alcohol again? I thought you gave that up?"

"Shut up! F*** I hate you! F*** being in love," she yelled as she flung the glass out the open window and could hear a few Purrloin cry out. She stared up at the ceiling. "I can't do this. I can't go out there and perform."

She grabbed a newspaper and opened it up. Maybe reading would calm her nerves. On the front page was news about the four Team Rocket bosses being brought to justice. She laughed at the thought that they had finally got caught but then she frowned. As she read over the article, she noticed that it hadn't mentioned who caught them. It only said they had been left in an abandoned office and the police had been tipped off by an anonymous caller. "The f***?"

She heard a knock at the door and rolled her eyes. "What?"

"C-c-can I come in?"

Jasmine? "F*** you b****! I thought I told you I didn't want to see your face again?"

"I need to apologize."

"I said I don't want to see your f****** face again! Or maybe I do…so I can turn you into the police! I bet you're feeling really big, getting to take Ethan away from me, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry—"

"F*** you and get out of here! I'm trying to relax here!"

"I…just wanted to say—"

Homika got to her feet and glared at her. "What part of get the f*** out of here don't you understand?"

"Would you just be quiet so I can talk?"

"No. I'm gonna give you three seconds before I grab a bottle and-f*** you, I won't even give you that," she said as she grabbed a nearby bottle and flung it in Jasmine's direction. Suddenly Bolt appeared out of nowhere and caught the bottle in a small web he had spun beneath his limbs. She jumped backwards and landed on the ground in front of the fridge. Of all the things to appear, she had to bring that f****** spider! "Get that f****** out of here! F***! F*** it to hell! And back!"

Jasmine giggled of all things. "But he wanted you to take care of him. Maybe it will help you get over your fear of spiders."

"I'll smash that thing to bits."

"Even though it belonged to Ethan?"

"F*** Ethan! I'm a wreck because of him! I wish I had never met him!"

"Don't…say that."

She kicked the bed. What did she know? "What do you f****** know? Every time I think about him, I feel as if I have a gaping hole in my chest. I…I didn't even go the funeral…how could I? I don't want to believe he's dead…but…f****************! Just get out of here!"

"B-but…I…didn't kill him."

"Is that some sort of joke? Are you f***** with me? You really think you're being cute, aren't you?" She yelled. She grabbed another bottle and flung it at Jasmine but the bottle stopped in midair near the couch.

"You really should give this stuff up," he said as he suddenly appeared on the couch. She rubbed her eyes.

"I…f***! It's like the clouds opened up and Arceus said, f*** you Roxie."

Ethan sighed. "You think I'm a ghost?"

"…" She just stared as him as he sat up on the couch.

"Hey I don't remember if I thanked you or not but you did a really good job taking my place as the leader. HBIC or something like that, right? Thanks. I didn't think you would do it but you did a great job."

"…"

"Though it really sucks that even with Giovanni and company in custody, the truth about me will still take awhile to come out."

"…"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Soo…ahhh…I'm really sorry about putting you through that. It was the one way I figured I could get out of that little deal. And it worked too! Please don't be angry with Jasmine, she knew all along."

"…what?" Was the only thing she could muster. What just happened? What was going on?

"Roxie?"

She jumped up onto the couch and grabbed his collar and began to shake him. "I hate you, I hate you, I f****** hate you! I…I…"

"Go ahead and punch me, I deserve it."

She buried her head in his chest. "F*** you. I just want to…hit you so hard. H-h-how could you do that to me? I thought…I…I f****** sat in a darkened room for weeks on end!"

"I really should have confided with you earlier but I figured I had to make it look believable."

"F***…I f-f-finally get the chance to be with you and now…f**********! Don't tell me this is it?"

"W-w-well I would love to stick around but everyone still sees me as a horrible villain. I—"

Her phone rang and she glared over at it. She let the answering machine answer it and heard her manager screaming into it. "Hey Homika, where the hell are you? The opening band is about to finish up but you're nowhere to be found! You better get out there soon! We got a whole stadium full of screaming fans out there!"

She felt like smashing the phone but…"F***, I don't even want to go out there now. How can I perform for them when I'm a mess? I'm a f****** emotional mess! I…f***," she said as she hopped off him and looked over at her guitar. "I guess I better go out there then."

"We can stick around for the concert at—"

"You better," she said as she picked up the guitar. She tapped her fingers on the guitar a few times. She smiled and she turned to face him. "Because Roxie is gonna give everyone a farewell concert to remember!"

Ethan and Jasmine's eyes grew wide. "F-f-farewell?"

"Yes f******! I know you can hear. Farewell concert. If you two have to languish in obscurity until your names are cleared…well so can I!"

"But what about your-"

"F*** it! I'm talented anyways; I'll just have a killer comeback! I've always wanted to do one and now I'll get my chance!" She said. She walked over to him and kissed him on the lips before pulling away. "And you better not go away because there is a whole lot f****** more to come."

[Story to be continued in Once Upon a time in Hoehn.]


End file.
